New syndrome which causes obesity and intellectual disability identified by scientists at the University of Manchester

Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a rare new genetic syndrome of obesity, over-eating, mental and behavioural problems in six families, from across the world.

Dr Siddharth Banka from the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine worked with Dr Eric Glasgow of the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington D.C to study the consequences of chromosome 6 deletion.

The paper, Small 6q16.1 Deletions Encompassing Cause Susceptibility to Obesity and Variable Developmental Delay with Intellectual Disability was published Jan. 28 in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Find out more about the genetic syndrome on the ITV News website.