“Let’s do the 108 Sun Salutations class on Wednesday morning!” my dear friend Nancie texted me. The special class was scheduled for the day of the summer solstice. My initial reaction was to wonder if she really knew me. After all, I’ve spent a significant part of my personal and…
A wearable device capable of measuring light exposure could help to predict symptoms of erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), and may be useful as a measure to include in clinical trials, according to a recent study. The study, “Prospective observational pilot study of quantitative light dosimetry in erythropoietic…
I have a confession to make. I’ve read the “Twilight” saga. Yes, even the “Eclipse” novella about the newborn vampire army. I’ve watched all of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” as well as the spinoff series, “Angel,” and also “True Blood.” When pop culture flipped the vampire trope from…
Exposure to sunlight can affect people with cutaneous porphyrias (largely marked by fragility of sun-exposed skin), and two types of acute porphyrias — variegate porphyria, or hereditary coproporphyria. The severity of the reaction, however, differs among patients. Why is sun exposure a problem? In some kinds of…
Physicians in Canada have reported the case of report of a 4-year-old boy whose delayed — and severe —reaction to sunlight led to a diagnosis of erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). The case was described in the study “Delayed photosensitivity in a child with erythropoietic protoporphyria: a case…
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