Through the use of focused DNA sequencing of positional candidate genes on chromosome 1q21, we discovered that FPLD results from mutations in LMNA (R482Q; OMIM 150330.0010), which is the gene that encodes nuclear lamins A and C. By stratifying members of extended FPLD pedigrees according to LMNA genotype, we found that hyperinsulinemia is present early in the course of the disease and that dyslipidemia (characterized by high triglycerides and depressed HDL cholesterol) precedes the development of glucose abnormalities.