OBJECTIVETo study the genetic diagnosis of Angelman syndrome(AS), and provide information for clinic diagnosis and counseling to AS families.

METHODSMethylation specific-PCR (MS-PCR) was used for primary diagnosis of 16 clinically suspected AS cases, and linkage analysis by short tandem repeat (STR) was applied to detect the molecular genetic defect in the nuclear families.

RESULTSIn this study, 10 AS patients were identified by MS-PCR, and 9 of them with maternal deletion in chromosome 15q11-q13, 1 with imprinting defect in chromosome 15q11-q13 were confirmed by STR linkage analysis.

CONCLUSIONMost of the AS patients could be confirmed by MS-PCR. And STR linkage analysis can detect the molecular defect of AS. It is very important for disease diagnosis, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis to perform the related genetic diagnosis.