Identification and Metabolic Characterization of a Cohort of Human Subjects With Mutations in PRDM-16

Chinese male subjects will be invited to participate in a research study of brown fat, a special tissue in the body that is designed to burn energy to make heat. The objective is to learn the importance of a gene called "PRDM-16" for the function of brown fat. Subjects were selected as a possible subject in this study because they fulfil the age and weight criteria. 500 subjects from the Singhealth Investigational Medicine Unit healthy volunteer database will be recruited over a period of 2 years. All of the subjects will have their PRDM-16 gene sequenced. The objective is to identify subjects with mutations, or changes, in their PRDM-16 gene. About 12 subjects with PRDM-16 mutations are expected to be identified. Samples of blood obtained during the course of this study will be stored and analysed only for the purposes of this study for a period not exceeding 2 years, and will be destroyed after completion of the study, unless subject is agreeable to donate the samples to the National Heart Centre Singapore for continuous storage for future studies that are approved by the institutional review board..