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Note: This story was updated on Feb. 2, 2021, to note that cutaneous symptoms are more common in VP and HCP than in AIP or ADP. The American Porphyria Foundation is joining with others in asking people with acute hepatic porphyria to participate in the Porphyria Worldwide Patient Experience Research (POWER)…

The two COVID-19 vaccines that recently received emergency approval from the U.S. and other worldwide regulatory agencies are expected to pose little risk to the rare disease community, including to patients with compromised immune systems or those participating in gene therapy studies. That was the message of a recent…

Radiation therapy for a woman with vaginal cancer completely resolved co-existing porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), a form of porphyria that affects the skin, a case study reported.  The case study, “Porphyria cutanea tarda exacerbation as…

Caring for a loved one with a rare disease, especially during these uncertain times, demands significant time, attention, patience, and dedication. To help meet that need, the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)’s Rare Caregiver Respite Program may be a helpful resource. The program seeks to give a…

Pretreatment with hemin helped treat a bacterial Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in a woman with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a Japanese case study reports. The treatment protocol outlined in the report was safely administered to a patient with a history of recurrent…

Sun exposure may lower the number and affect the properties of skin-derived stem cells in people with variegate porphyria, particularly their ability to give rise to other cell types, a study in two people has found. Further studies are still needed to understand the mechanisms that may cause the…

A combined liver and kidney transplant can be an effective treatment for acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) patients with kidney disease, a case report shows. The report, “Combined Liver and Kidney Transplant in Acute Intermittent Porphyria: A Case Report,” was published in the American Journal of Case…