Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

A young woman in France experienced a stroke as a reversible neurological consequence of an acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) attack that blocked blood flow to the brain, according to a recent case report. “The findings in our patient document reversible arterial narrowing” that caused the blood flow to be…

Women with acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) who experience sporadic attacks reported facing chronic symptoms and significant disruptions to their daily activities around each attack, according to a recent study. During patient interviews, these women also frequently described symptom “flares” that they did not consider to be an acute porphyria…

Disc Medicine has launched a Phase 2 trial of bitopertin, an investigational oral treatment for erythropoietic porphyrias. Dubbed BEACON, the open-label trial will investigate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of  multiple doses of bitopertin in about 20 patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP) at sites…

People with porphyria have a 5% increased risk of developing primary liver cancer compared with the general population, according to a recent review study. The findings highlight the importance of regular cancer screenings in porphyria patients, especially those older than 50 years, researchers noted. The study, “…

Undiagnosed hereditary coproporphyria (HCP) was the cause of psychiatric symptoms, including aggressive behaviors, delusions, and visual hallucinations, in a 66-year-old-man initially misdiagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, according to a recent case report. “Nonspecific symptoms of acute porphyria can mimic many other diseases and lead to delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis,” the…

Phlebotomy, or regular rounds of blood letting, eased symptoms of liver injury in three people with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), according to a small study. Besides supporting the utility of phlebotomy in treating this patient population, study findings suggest a potential role for the ABCG2 protein in the mechanisms that…

A new mutation in the UROS gene, combined with another previously reported mutation, was identified as the cause of congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) in an elderly Japanese woman, according to a recent case report. Researchers found the new mutation with genetic testing, following a porphyrin test that showed elevated levels in…

The number of deaths or acute attacks in women with acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) that required hospitalization decreased significantly since 1980, although more than half of them still reported some acute symptoms, according to a natural history study in Finland. The life expectancy for women with AHP…