A molecular approach to defining the inherited components in epilepsy and other diseases of uncertain etiology.

A general method has been developed which, in theory, will make it possible to follow the inheritance of virtually all genes in human families. This method, based on genetic linkage, envisions the use of cloned single copy human deoxyribonucleic acid probes to reveal restriction fragment length polymorphisms as genetic markers. Such markers can be assembled into a linkage map which can be applied to analysis of inherited diseases. It is speculated that such a map might help to clarify the role that heredity plays in the etiology of epilepsy.