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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 1999;282:1507-1508.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Chubby mice with blond bellies and an artfully disabled gene are giving scientists new insights into factors that can contribute to obesity, according to a new study reported last month (Nat Med. 1999;5:1066-1070).

A fat "knockout" mouse that lacks the gene that encodes pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)—shown with its normal littermate—is providing new insights into the factors that contribute to obesity. (Photo credit: Nature Medicine)

Besides shedding light on obesity, the rotund rodents are also shedding weight when treated with a drug that helps compensate for the genetic defect, a finding with potential implications for treating obesity in humans.

In addition to being obese, a POMC-deficient mouse (shown with its normal littermate) has yellowish pigmentation, most noticeable on the animal's belly. (Photo credit: Nature Medicine)

In the new study, a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, Denver, . . . [Full Text of this Article]