While monitoring lines of TDP-43 transgenic mice for neurological disease and weakness, we observed that line 61 mice, expressing a human familial ALS linked A315T mutation, became much larger than non-transgenic litter mates and appeared to develop progressive obesity without manifesting neurological deficits (Figure 1, A and B). This evidence concerns the gene TARDBP and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.