Prader Willi Syndrome

Advances in clinical assessment, epidemiology, metabolomics, and genomics have provided new insights into the pathogenesis of obesity comorbidities, including insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and cardiovascular disease; yet, we know very little about the factors causing people to become obese in the first place. In that regard, studies of genetic obesity models in humans and experimental animals are of critical value. Here we provide a review and update on Prader Willi syndrome (PWS), a unique genetic model of obesity associated with hypotonia, sarcopenia, cognitive dysfunction, hyperphagia, progressive fat deposition, and varying degrees of hypopituitarism.