Blepharophimosis syndrome (BPES) is a rare, autosomal dominant disease. Two clinical types of BPES have been distinguished. In BPES type I, an eyelid malformation is associated with infertility in affected females as a result of premature ovarian failure. In BPES type II, eyelid anomalies alone are observed. Mutations of FOXL2, which is a gene encoding a forkhead transcription factor, have recently been shown to cause both types of BPES. Here, we report 1 novel duplication mutation of the FOXL2 gene identified in a large Chinese family affected by type II BPES and 1 less recurrent 17-bp duplication in a large Chinese family affected by BPES of an undetermined type. These new cases give additional support to the previously reported genotype-phenotype correlations and our findings have expanded the spectrum of known mutations of the FOXL2 gene.
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