NPY and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: The biological evidence implicating GAD2 as a candidate gene (and by extension, hypothalamic GABA levels as causative) in severe obesity is as follows: GAD2 mRNA is co-expressed with neuropeptide Y in neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus that act in the nearby paraventricular nucleus and other hypothalamic areas to stimulate food intake [32].