Prenatal exclusion of stickler syndrome

Stickler syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder of the connective tissue which includes ocular and systemic manifestations. We report on a large kindred in which we were able to demonstrate very tight linkage between the disease and the type II collagen gene (COL2A1) (LOD score 3.91 at theta = 0). In a family in which the father and one of his daughters were severely affected, DNA analysis from a chorionic villus sample demonstrated that the fetus possessed the normal allele of COL2A1. Thereafter a normal child was born.