Choroideremia, congenital deafness and mental retardation in a family with an X chromosomal deletion.

An interstitial deletion of the proximal part of the long arm of the X chromosome was found in two brothers both suffering from choroideremia, congenital deafness and mental retardation. The mother was subsequently found to be heterozygous for the deletion, and to have the typical ophthalmological phenotype of a choroideremia carrier together with an elevated stapedial reflex threshold. Syndromes including choroideremia seem to be composed of characteristics which, independent of each other, occur as X-linked traits. Since this deletion covers part of the region Xq21.1-Xq21.31 it is postulated that besides the locus for choroideremia this region harbors a locus for X-linked congenital deafness and possibly a locus for X-linked mental retardation.