Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Certain regions of the brain are unusually small in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a study reveals. “The present study provides objective evidence of volumetric alterations in the subcortical, limbic, and brainstem structures in individuals with PWS,” its researchers wrote. The study, “Differential volume reductions in…

Scoliosis — an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine — has a high prevalence among people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), and becomes increasingly more common with older age, a study highlights. In fact, more than 80% of the PWS patients in the study, who were followed for more than…

The European Commission is expected to propose a new governing framework for health data next month, called the European Health Data Space (EHDS), with the aim of connecting national health systems to facilitate secure and efficient transfer of data across systems in different European nations. The move is expected to…

Starting treatment with growth hormone early in life — before age 2 — was associated with better cognitive and behavioral outcomes for children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) in a recent study out of Spain. “We found greater cognitive and adaptive performance in patients who had received early treatment,” its…

Recent changes to a Phase 2 clinical trial of the oral medicine pitolisant to treat excessive daytime sleepiness will make it easier for people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) to participate in the study, according to an announcement from the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. “In addition to evaluating…

Dietary supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid led to weight loss in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), according to a recently published study. Results were detailed in the journal Nutrients, in the article “Dietary Conjugated Linoleic Acid Reduces Body Weight and Fat in Snord116m+/p−…

Folate produced by a specific kind of gut bacteria likely contributed to weight loss in a teenager with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) who was given a high-fiber diet for several months. A trio of researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China described the case in a study, “…

Levels of several hunger-regulating hormones are dysregulated in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), which likely contributes to the excessive hunger that characterizes the condition, a study suggests. Clustering patients based on these hormone levels could help to detect PWS and identify targets for therapies, researchers say. The study, “…

A low-cost screening test called methylation-specific quantitative melt analysis (MS-QMA) could feasibly be used to conduct newborn screening for Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and related conditions, according to a new study. The study, “Feasibility of Screening for Chromosome 15 Imprinting Disorders in 16579 Newborns by Using a…

In people with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), certain parts of the brain associated with decision-making and reward processing are less active in response to the sight of food, a study has found. The findings suggest that people with PWS get less of a “reward” feeling from eating than their typically…