Paramyotonia congenita (PC) is a rare autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder characterized by juvenile
onset and development of cold-induced myotonia after repeated activities. The disease is mostly caused by geneticmutations
of the sodium channel, voltage-gated, type IV, alpha subunit (SCN4A) gene. This study intended
to systematically identify the causative genetic variations of a Chinese Han PC family. Seven members of this PC
family, including four patients and three healthy controls, were selected for whole exome sequencing (WES)
using the Illumina HiSeq platform. Sequence variations were identified using the SoftGenetics program. The
mutation R1448C of SCN4A was found to be the only causative mutation. This study applied WES technology
to sequence multiple members of a large PC family and was the first to systematically confirm that the genetic
change in SCN4A is the only causative variation in this PC family and the SCN4A mutation is sufficient to lead
to PC.