ISL1 and familial dilated cardiomyopathy: 2013). However, our study validates this in a control population ninefold larger. The four genes, TMPO, NEBL, FLT1, and ISL1, are examples of genes initially associated through candidate gene approach due to a plausible association to DCM. NEBL and FLT1 are both implicated in the contraction process of the myocardium, (Zeller et al. 2006; Purevjav et al. 2010) while ISL1 and TMPO are important genes in the prenatal development of the myocardial contractile elements (Taylor et al. 2005; Friedrich et al. 2013).