Molecular psychiatry
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Molecular psychiatry · Aug 2004
Binge-eating episodes are not characteristic of carriers of melanocortin-4 receptor gene mutations.
Recently, Branson and coworkers reported a strong association between binge-eating disorder (BED) and variants in the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (MC4R). In the current study, we compared the eating behavior of 43 obese probands with functionally relevant MC4R mutations and of 35 polymorphism carriers (V103I or I251L) with wild-type carriers. The module for eating disorders of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to identify binge-eating behavior. ⋯ No significant differences between carriers of MC4R variants and wild-type carriers were detected. In particular, we found no evidence for an increased rate of binge-eating behavior in obese carriers of MC4R variants. Our findings do not support the strong association between BED and MC4R carrier status.