Pendred syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by goiter and 
congenital deafness. The primary defect is not yet known, although the gene 
causing Pendred syndrome has been localized very recently on chromosome 7q, a 
region that also contains a gene responsible for nonsyndromal hearing loss 
(DFNB4). We confirmed linkage to this chromosome 7 region in five Pendred 
families originating from different ethnic groups, with a highest cumulative lod 
score of 8.26 for marker D7S501. In combination with previous reports, our 
results define a candidate region for the Pendred gene of 1.7 cM flanked by 
markers D7S501 and D7S692.