Type II Collagen Gene Variants and Inherited Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

All the patients with familial ANFH whom we studied carried COL2A1 mutations. In families with ANFH, haplotype and sequence analysis of the COL2A1 gene can be used to identify carriers of the mutant allele before the onset of clinical symptoms, allowing the initiation of measures that may delay progression of the disease.