Brain-derived neurotrophic factor haploinsufficiency linked to (childhood) obesity
The critical region for childhood-obesity onset was located within 80 kilobases of exon 1 of BDNF; serum BDNF concentrations were 50% lower in patients with heterozygous BDNF deletions (P=.001), according to the researchers.
“Hyperleptinemia is a hallmark of almost all forms of obesity; thus, understanding the role of downstream mediators of leptin action such as BDNF holds promise for laying the groundwork for the development of new pharmaceutical approaches to the global obesity epidemic,” the researchers wrote.
“Further studies are needed to assess the potential therapeutic role of BDNF replacement in people in whom insufficient BDNF protein is produced and the potential contributions of more common allelic variants at the locus for susceptibility to obesity among people in the general population.” Read more at endocrinetoday.com
“Hyperleptinemia is a hallmark of almost all forms of obesity; thus, understanding the role of downstream mediators of leptin action such as BDNF holds promise for laying the groundwork for the development of new pharmaceutical approaches to the global obesity epidemic,” the researchers wrote.
“Further studies are needed to assess the potential therapeutic role of BDNF replacement in people in whom insufficient BDNF protein is produced and the potential contributions of more common allelic variants at the locus for susceptibility to obesity among people in the general population.” Read more at endocrinetoday.com
