RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the characteristics of changes of p13E-11 labelled 4q35 EcoRI fragments and to make a gene diagnosis of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy(FSHD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA was extracted and was digested by EcoR I /Bln I. After pulsed field gel electrophoresis, it was hybridized with probe p13E-11 by Southern blot. The illness was diagnosed as FSHD when the 4q35 EcoRI fragment was smaller than 38 kb.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 26 cases of FSHD, the fragments of 20 cases were smaller than 38 kb. The positive rate was 76.92%. In 12 cases of FSHD family members, the fragments of 2 cases were smaller than 38 kb. All fragments of the 21 controls were greater than 38 kb.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It was rather good to use <38 kb as a standard for diagnosis of FSHD. The positive rate of FSHD was similar to that from the references.</p>