adult onset

(University of Minnesota) Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered a gene that may provide a clue as to why obesity rates increase with age.

The research was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists who disrupted one type of the gene ubiquitin (Ubb) in mice observed neuronal death in the hypothalamus, impaired control of energy balance and adult-onset obesity in the rodents.

The study hints at a method to treat obesity and neurodegeneration.