Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2610

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Lavine G.
Myriad Genetics zeroes in on possible link between gene and childhood obesity
The Salt Lake Tribune 2005 Sep 30
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_3074405

Keywords:
obesity gene

Notes:

Ralph Faggotter’s Comments: In the unlikely event that some sort of harmless molecule is found which can be consumed to counteract the impact of the ‘obesity gene’ without disrupting other metabolic processes in the body, it will probably cost tens of thousands of dollars per year.
Surely the low-tech solution turning off the TV, getting rid of the high-calorie snack foods and buying a gym membership would be simpler, cheaper and healthier?

Full text:

Myriad Genetics zeroes in on possible link between gene and childhood obesity
By Greg Lavine
The Salt Lake Tribune

need 1 line trimmed Myriad Genetics reported on Thursday the discovery of a gene that may hold promise in treating childhood obesity. The COB1 gene could provide a target for obesity drugs as well as a way to help diagnose the disease, the Salt Lake City biotech firm said. As part of the research, scientists compared DNA samples from 200 people with early-onset diabetes, in which obesity is often a factor, with a similarly-sized group of normal weight participants. Study subjects with an overeating disorder known as hyperphagia appeared to share high rates of mutation in the COB1 gene. Researchers previously recognized the gene’s role in regulating insulin signaling, but the gene was not known to play a role in overeating. Since insulin can act in the brain to inhibit eating, mutations in the COB1 gene may spark abnormal eating behavior, the company said. The COB1 gene is among a group of genes Myriad is studying that may be related to Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other disorders. In 2002, the company announced a link between the HOB1 gene and moderate- to severe-obesity. “COB1 is one such gene that we feel has good potential to lead to a commercial product.” said Jerry Lanchbury, the company’s executive vice president for research. “We are now working on developing our understanding of the biological function of the gene and its mode of action.” Myriad has not published the findings in a peer-reviewed science journal, which would allow outside experts to evaluate the data. Ingrid Borecki, a genetics researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, said while she could not comment on the specific finding, there is a widespread effort to look for genes related to obesity. “Clearly, it would be a big boon,” Borecki said if Myriad’s announcement does lead to drugs or other treatments to help combat obesity. Genetics is believed to play a role in a governing a variety of behaviors. Genes likely help determine how much we eat, preference for sweet or fatty foods and how our body processes food. “Obviously, obesity is a national epidemic,” said Borecki, who studies genes involved in obesity as part of her research. Myriad hopes to use the COB1 gene as a drug target to deal with childhood obesity. The gene could also serve as the basis for a test that could help doctors identify the exact cause of a young patient’s obesity. In the 1990s, the company helped discover that women carrying mutations of the BRCA-1 gene have a greater chance to develop breast cancer. Myriad created tests that now screen for the BRCA-1 gene.