News

For this year’s Porphyria Awareness Week (PAW), running April 15-22, the American Porphyria Foundation (APF) is putting a spotlight on those individuals with a rare genetic disease that falls under the disorder’s umbrella. The goal is to increase awareness of porphyria among the public, as well as advocate…

Enrollment is still underway in the Phase 2 clinical trial AURORA for bitopertin as a potential disease-modifying treatment for erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). AURORA (NCT05308472), which launched in October, is seeking to enroll up to 75 adults with EPP at several sites in the U.S. Meanwhile, data from…

In an extremely unusual case, a young man in Turkey diagnosed as a child with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic neurological disease, was also found to have porphyria. “An individual carrying mutated genes for both diseases is similar to the odds of two pins colliding in mid-air,” its…

People in Brazil with acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) have a high prevalence of chronic symptoms and a poor quality of life, a retrospective registry study has found. This new work also reported a higher proportion of patients with recurrent attacks compared with previous studies. “Our study fortifies the knowledge…

A woman with unexplained abdominal pain and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SiADH) was eventually diagnosed with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) after initial testing and misdiagnoses, a new case study reports. In SiADH, overproduction of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) causes the kidneys to reduce filtration significantly and retain more…

Treatment with Givlaari (givosiran) normalized disease-related laboratory parameters in a 47-year-old woman with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) but she continued to experience severe symptom attacks despite getting normal test results. “We report a patient with AIP who experienced biochemical resolution of her [disease] with monthly [Givlaari] injections yet…

Among people with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) and chronic hepatitis C infection, treatment with modern antiviral medicines has been found to cure the infection and resolve PCT symptoms, according to a new study. Specifically, a combination therapy of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir — sold by Gilead under the brand name…

A Chinese woman with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) accompanied by brain lesions was found to have a new mutation in the HMBS gene, a case report described. Along with other symptoms including constipation, seizures, and muscle weakness, the woman had swelling in some areas of the brain, indicative of…

An early diagnosis and treatment for acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) might have prevented severe complications in a 21-year-old woman, according to a U.K. case report. The researchers noted the nonspecific symptoms of porphyria attacks may make the diagnosis difficult. However, recurrent abdominal pain, low sodium levels in the blood,…

People with inactive porphyria who choose to fast for a day as part of their religious observances generally don’t see any unusual porphyria symptoms, a recent study reported. The study, “A 25-Hour Fast Among Quiescent Hereditary Coproporphyria and Variegate Porphyria Patients is Associated With a Low Risk…