Our PWS research
Garvan’s Prader-Willi group is one of the leading research groups in the field.
Recent publications
- We’ve looked at how hormones released from the gut after eating can influence the balance of hunger and fullness in people with PWS. Since these hormone pathways are important in PWS, we’ve tested a hormone-like drug and found that a single injection was successful in causing increased satiety, a hugely promising finding.
- We’ve also identified two factors related to increased cardiovascular risk in PWS: a problem in the cardiac regulation of the autonomic nervous system and increased low-grade inflammation.
Another project has also shed light on the relationship of muscle mass and fat mass on bone strength in people with PWS as compared to lean and obese subjects without the syndrome.
New projects underway
- We’re investigating inflammatory responses after eating;
- measuring gastric emptying speed in PWS versus controls, and compare to their sensations of appetite and fullness, as well as their appetite-regulating gut hormones
- assessing the efficacy and safety of a new drug already used to treat type 2 diabetes on appetite, behaviour and cognition, as well as possible effects of gastric emptying speed.
You can help our team make important breakthroughs in PWS research.