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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1509994
This article is part of the Research Topic Subjective Sensations in Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases View all 3 articles

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Precision Medicine in Rare Genetic Obesity Disorders: A Scientific Perspective

Provisionally accepted
Tinh-Hai Collet Tinh-Hai Collet 1,2Valerie Schwitzgebel Valerie Schwitzgebel 1,2*
  • 1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 2 University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, affecting both children and adults. This obesity epidemic is mostly driven by an increase in energy intake (abundance of highly palatable energydense food and drinks) and to a lesser degree a decrease in energy expenditure (sedentary lifestyle).A small proportion of individuals with obesity are affected by genetic forms of obesity, which often relate to mutations in the leptin-melanocortin pathway or are part of syndromes such as the Bardet-Biedl syndrome. These rare forms of obesity have provided valuable insights into the genetic architecture of obesity. Recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms that control appetite, hunger, and satiety have led to the development of drugs that can override genetic defects, enabling precision treatment. Leptin deficiency is uniquely treated with recombinant human metreleptin, while those with LEPR, PCSK1, or POMC deficiency can now be treated with the MC4R agonist setmelanotide. This review highlights the most frequent monogenic and syndromic forms of obesity, and the future outlook of precision treatment for these conditions.

    Keywords: Monogenic obesity, Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R), Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin-type 1 (PCSK1), Pro-opio-melanocortin (POMC), Leptin receptor (LEPR), Leptin-melanocortin pathway, Bardet-Biedel Syndrome, Precision medicine Topic: Subjective Sensations in Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases

    Received: 11 Oct 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Collet and Schwitzgebel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Valerie Schwitzgebel, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.