Clinical features of acute attacks, chronic symptoms, and long-term complications among patients with acute hepatic porphyria in Japan: a real-world claims database study.

BACKGROUND: Acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) is a family of rare genetic diseases, including acute intermittent porphyria, variegate porphyria, hereditary coproporphyria, and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase-deficient porphyria. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to provide information on the clinical features of AHP in Japan-including acute attacks, chronic symptoms, and long-term complications. METHODS: Patients with AHP between April 2008 and June 2020 were selected from Japan's Medical Data Vision claims database. Patients with AHP were matched 1:10, by sex and age, to patients without AHP. The outcomes were evaluated overall, for patients age ≥ 55 years, and for the matched population. RESULTS: A total of 391 patients with AHP were included from the Japanese Medical Data Vision database. During the observation period (April 2008-June 2020), 18.2% (71/391) of patients experienced 1 acute attack and 10.5% (41/391) experienced ≥ 2 attacks. Chronic symptoms with rates ~ 10% or higher in the AHP population compared with the matched population included neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders (21.7% vs. 6.7% [15.0% difference]); sleep disorders (23.0% vs. 9.9% [13.1% difference]); other and unspecified abdominal pain (13.6% vs. 3.7% [9.9% difference]); and nausea and vomiting, excluding chemotherapy-induced emesis (17.9% vs. 8.1% [9.8% difference]). Long-term complications with higher incidence rates in the AHP population compared with the matched population included fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (15.9% vs. 3.0% [12.9% difference]), polyneuropathies and other disorders of the peripheral nervous system (20.5% vs. 7.9% [12.6% difference]), liver cancer (16.9% vs. 4.7% [12.2% difference]), renal failure (16.4% vs. 4.3% [12.1% difference]), and hypertension (26.1% vs. 18.8% [7.3% difference]). Among AHP patients age ≥ 55 years, the most common long-term complications were hypertension, kidney failure, and liver cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In Japan, patients with AHP experience a high clinical burden in terms of acute attacks, chronic symptoms, and long-term complications. The clinical burden related to chronic symptoms and long-term complications was substantially higher in Japanese patients with AHP compared with a matched population without AHP. Recognizing these signs and symptoms of AHP may aid physicians in making an earlier diagnosis, which may help patients avoid attack triggers, implement disease management, and reduce lifetime disease burden.

The diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria combined with seizures: Case report.

RATIONALE: Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare metabolic disorder affecting heme production due to enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase deficiency. Diagnosing acute intermittent porphyria is difficult because its symptoms interrelate with those of other common diseases. When AIP is combined with seizures, the diagnosis process is more complicated. This case report shows all tests and criteria used to arrive at the final stage of diagnosis. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient complained of severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and intermittent convulsions. Her medical history shows she had abdominal pain, mainly dull pain in the left upper abdomen. DIAGNOSES: Different symptomatic tests were done, and the cause of her symptoms was uncertain. A urine sun drying test was then done and confirmed the presence of porphyrin used to diagnose AIP. A genetic test was done after the patient was discharged, and AIP diagnosis was confirmed. INTERVENTIONS: Acute intermittent porphyria treatment was administered. OUTCOMES: The patent recovered fully. LESSONS: It is essential to consider acute intermittent porphyria diagnosis in patients having unexplained severe abdominal pain associated with neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Since AIP is a rare disease with a high mortality rate when not treated early, Clinical practices should include AIP as one of the tests done on patients showing these symptoms at an early stage. The fastest way to identify this is to conduct a urine test. The change of color from brown to reddish color is a diagnostic indicator of AIP. This strategy helps reduce misdiagnoses and delayed treatment of the right disease.

Acute intermittent porphyria complicated with acute pancreatitis: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare genetic disorder that affects porphyrin metabolism in the blood. The disease causes defects in specific enzymes in the body, which in turn leads to the accumulation of porphyrin metabolites. Patients may experience abdominal pain, neurological symptoms, muscle pain, and nausea, but it does not directly cause pancreatitis. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient is a young woman, 23 years old, who was admitted to our hospital with intermittent abdominal pain for 2 days, the pain was not fixed, episodic, with no obvious trigger, and 1 day before admission, the patient started to experience nausea and vomiting, with gastric contents as the vomitus, and similar symptoms had occurred many times in the past. Blood amylase 600 U/L, blood sodium 120.6 mmol/L, blood routine, and coagulation function results were normal; abdominal CT showed pancreatic swelling with unclear surrounding fat interstitial, acute pancreatitis was considered. The patient's urine was dark red, and the results of the qualitative urine porphyrin test were positive. DIAGNOSES: AIP complicated with acute pancreatitis. INTERVENTION: Relief of symptoms, control of pain, correction of electrolyte disturbances, and high-carbohydrate therapy. OUTCOMES: The patient was discharged with complete symptomatic relief after 10 days of high-carbohydrate therapy. LESSONS: AIP complicated with acute pancreatitis is very rare. Treatment of AIPs aims to control acute attacks and prevent potential triggers.

Acute Porphyria: An Unusual Case Of Quadriparesis, Hypertension, Recurrent Severe Cyclic Abdominal Pain, And Seizures.

Porphyria refers to a rare group of genetically inherited or acquired disorders that arise due to reduced metabolic activity of any of the enzymes in the haem biosynthetic pathway. Defect in any enzyme causes the presentation of symptoms of porphyria. The epidemiology of Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP) is complicated because of its rarity and delay in diagnosis. We present the case of a seven-year-old girl who presented with multisystem involvement; her symptoms were quadriparesis, hypertension, recurrent severe cyclic abdominal pain, and seizures. These symptoms together were not explained by the differentials taken into account. She presented before puberty with no family history of such conditions, while being born of consanguineous marriage. Her symptoms along with urinary porphobilinogen positivity test helped to reach the diagnosis of AIP in the absence of cutaneous manifestations. This case highlights the variable presentation of porphyria and emphasises the importance of appropriate and timely diagnosis and management in these patients.

Rare Coexistence of Acute Intermittent Porphyria With Systemic Lupus Erythematous: Case Report and Literature Review.

Porphyrias, particularly acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), are rare, inherited disorders of heme synthesis. On the other hand, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an uncommon autoimmune disease that affects women predominantly. The coexistence of AIP and SLE is rare. We report a case of concomitant diagnosis of AIP and SLE in a 21-year-old woman who presented with recurrent acute abdominal, chest, and back pain associated with nausea and vomiting, followed by arthralgia, multiple joint pain, and rash. Investigations revealed severe hyponatremia related to SIADH (syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion) with a positive SLE antibody panel and a positive urine screen for porphobilinogen. Molecular test confirmed the diagnosis of AIP with a pathogenic mutation in the HMBS gene.

[Abdominal pain with neuropsychiatric symptoms and ventilatory failure as a presentation of acute porphyria]. / Abdomen agudo con compromiso neuropsiquiátrico y ventilatoria como presentación de porfiria agudac.

Background: Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is an uncommon metabolic disease, being the most common of the acute porphyrias. The most frequent symptom is acute abdominal pain, although can be accompanied by seizures, neuro-psychiatric alterations or symmetrical motor neuropathies, which in some patients can progress to respiratory musculature paralysis. Objective: To describe an atypical presentation of acute porphyria to be considered as differential diagnoses in abdominal pain. Clinical case: We present a case of a patient with AIP, presenting acute abdomen, seizures, later developed neuropsychiatric compromise and symmetrical motor neuropathy, and was admitted to mechanical ventilation. Due to the severity of the neurological involvement, he received hemin arginate, presenting with transient hypertransaminemia, an adverse event not previously reported. The evolution was favorable, with mechanical ventilation and hospital discharge withdrawn. Conclusions: The diagnosis of AIP should be considered in cases of acute abdominal pain associated with neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms, particularly young women. The administration of hemin is considered the standard of treatment, and even late could have beneficial effects.

Introducción: la porfiria aguda intermitente (PAI) es una enfermedad metabólica infrecuente, siendo la más común de las porfirias agudas. El síntoma más frecuente es el dolor abdominal agudo, aunque también pueden acompañarse de convulsiones, alteraciones neuro-psiquiátricas o neuropatías motoras simétricas, y que en algunos pacientes puede progresar a la parálisis de la musculatura respiratoria. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir una forma atípica de presentación de una porfiria aguda, a fin de considerar como diagnósticos diferenciales en dolor abdominal. Caso clínico: paciente con PAI, que presenta abdomen agudo, convulsiones, posteriormente compromiso neuro-psiquiátrico y neuropatía motora simétrica, ingresando a ventilación mecánica. Por la gravedad del compromiso neurológico recibió arginato de hemina, cursando con hipertransaminemia transitoria, evento adverso no reportado previamente. La evolución fue favorable, retirándosele la ventilación mecánica y el alta hospitalaria. Conclusiones: se debe considerar el diagnóstico de PAI en casos de dolor abdominal agudo asociado a síntomas neurológicos y/o psiquiátricos, particularmente en mujeres jóvenes. La administración de hemina es considerada el estándar de tratamiento, y aun en forma tardía podría tener efectos beneficiosos.

Acute intermittent porphyria: A rare cause of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.

A 31-year-old female presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation. Serum sodium levels were recorded at 110 mmol/L on admission, dropping to 96 mmol/L despite fluid restriction. The patient developed hallucinations and required hypertonic saline administration in critical care. Urinary sodium was detected at 149 mmol/L, consistent with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SiADH). Urinary porphyrins were also raised, consistent with a diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria with SiADH as a complication.

Transcriptome profile analysis reveals putative molecular mechanisms of 5-aminolevulinic acid toxicity.

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is the first precursor of the heme biosynthesis pathway, accumulated in acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), an inherited metabolic disease characterized by porphobilinogen deaminase deficiency. An increased incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reported as a long-term manifestation in symptomatic AIP patients. 5-ALA is an α-aminoketone prone to oxidation, yielding reactive oxygen species and 4,5-dioxovaleric acid. A high concentration of 5-ALA presents deleterious pro-oxidant potential. It can induce apoptosis, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and altered expression of carcinogenesis-related proteins. Several hypotheses of the increased risk of HCC rely on the harmful effect of elevated 5-ALA in the liver of AIP patients, which could promote a pro-carcinogenic environment. We investigated the global transcriptional changes and perturbed molecular pathways in HepG2 cells following exposure to 5-ALA 25 mM for 2 h and 24 h using DNA microarray. Distinct transcriptome profiles were observed. 5-ALA '25 mM-2h' upregulated 10 genes associated with oxidative stress response and carcinogenesis. Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes by KEGG, Reactome, MetaCore™, and Gene Ontology, showed that 5-ALA '25 mM-24h' enriched pathways involved in drug detoxification, oxidative stress, DNA damage, cell death/survival, cell cycle, and mitochondria dysfunction corroborating the pro-oxidant properties of 5-ALA. Furthermore, our results disclosed other possible processes such as senescence, immune responses, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and also some putative effectors, such as sequestosome, osteopontin, and lon peptidase 1. This study provided additional knowledge about molecular mechanisms of 5-ALA toxicity which is essential to a deeper understanding of AIP and HCC pathophysiology. Furthermore, our findings can contribute to improving the efficacy of current therapies and the development of novel biomarkers and targets for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic strategies for AHP/AIP and associated HCC.

Porphyria: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Prompt diagnosis of metabolic disorders in a resource-limited country like Nepal is daunting. Acute intermittent porphyria is a rare but common hepatic porphyria mostly seen in females of the reproductive age group. As its incidence is quite uncommon, conjectures about porphyria diagnosis are often duped into a diagnostic conundrum. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we unravel a case of a 15-year-old Hindu Nepalese girl distraught by the myriad of symptoms in the setting of severe abdominal pain accompanied by constipation and limb pain as the chief complaints. She presented with acute severe hypertension with marked persistent hyponatremia (up to 109 mEq/L). Despite conservative management of hypertension and electrolytes, unresolved electrolyte imbalance led us to the speculation of disturbance in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Due to her exacerbating neurovisceral status, she also required intensive care during the disease course. After thorough investigations and exemption of presumed provisional diagnoses, based on sustained symptomatic presentation, the clinical suspicion was driven towards a diagnosis of porphyria-related disorders. Positive Watson-Schwartz test substantiated the diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria. Her symptoms gradually abated after the consumption of high carbohydrate diets. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the baffling amalgamation of symptoms that simulate common diseases of concern yet are buried in the realm of porphyric disorders. Porphyria can be diagnosed using simple screening tools and timely treatment can diminish serious consequences.

EXPLORE B: A prospective, long-term natural history study of patients with acute hepatic porphyria with chronic symptoms.

One-year data from EXPLORE Part A showed high disease burden and impaired quality of life (QOL) in patients with acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) with recurrent attacks. We report baseline data of patients who enrolled in EXPLORE Part B for up to an additional 3 years of follow-up. EXPLORE B is a long-term, prospective study evaluating disease activity, pain intensity, and QOL in patients with AHP with ≥1 attack in the 12 months before enrollment or receiving hemin or gonadotropin-releasing hormone prophylaxis. Data were evaluated in patients with more (≥3 attacks or on prophylaxis treatment) or fewer (<3 attacks and no prophylaxis treatment) attacks. Patients in the total population (N = 136), and more (n = 110) and fewer (n = 26) attack subgroups, reported a median (range) of 3 (0-52), 4 (0-52), and 1 (0-2) acute attacks, respectively, in the 12 months prior to the baseline visit. Pain, mood/sleep, digestive/bladder, and nervous system symptoms were each experienced by ≥80% of patients; most received hemin during attacks. Almost three-quarters of patients reported chronic symptoms between attacks, including 85% of patients with fewer attacks. Pain intensity was comparable among both attack subgroups; most patients required pain medication. All groups had diminished QOL on the EuroQol visual analog scale and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-life Questionnaire Core 30 versus population norms. Patients with AHP with recurrent attacks, even those having fewer attacks, experience a high disease burden, as evidenced by chronic symptoms between attacks and impaired QOL.

Neurological Manifestations of Acute Porphyrias.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Porphyrias constitute a group of rare metabolic disorders that result in a deficiency of the heme biosynthetic pathway and lead to the accumulation of metabolic intermediaries. Patients with porphyria can experience recurrent neurovisceral attacks which are characterized by neuropathic abdominal pain and acute gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Depending on the type of porphyria, patients can present with cutaneous manifestations, such as severe skin photosensitivity, chronic hemolysis, or evidence of neurologic dysfunction, including alterations in consciousness, neurovascular involvement, seizures, transient sensor-motor symptoms, polyneuropathy, and behavioral abnormalities. RECENT FINDINGS: More recently, cases of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, cerebral vasoconstriction, and acute flaccid paralysis have also been described. While the exact pathogenic mechanisms linking the accumulation of abnormal heme biosynthetic intermediaries to neurologic manifestations have not been completely elucidated, it has been proposed that these manifestations are more common than previously thought and can result in permanent neurologic injury. This article reviews the basic principles of heme synthesis as well as the pathogenic mechanism of disease, presentation, and treatment of acute hepatic porphyrias with emphasis on those with neurologic manifestations.

A Perfect Storm: Abdominal Pain and Ileus Explained by Acute Intermittent Porphyria Caused by Prehospitalization and Intrahospitalization Factors.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare autosomal dominant inherited disease, predominantly seen in female patients, caused by mutations in the hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene. When impaired, elevated heme biosynthesis precursor levels accumulate in the liver, resulting in neurological symptoms, psychiatric disturbances, darkened urine color, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and ileus. We present a 22-year-old Hispanic female with diffuse abdominal pain and no bowel movements for 8 days. She reported recent antibiotic and oral contraceptive pill use. Computerized tomography of her abdomen revealed a dilated small bowel and marked colonic distension. A colonoscopy found mild nonspecific inflammation in the rectosigmoid and terminal ileum. Her abdominal pain persisted despite interventions and improvements in appetite, bowel movements, abdominal imaging, and treatment of an identified Clostridium difficile infection. A random urine porphobilinogen was then obtained and found to be elevated. Fractionation of plasma and urine porphyrins was suggestive of AIP. Her symptoms improved with 3 days of intravenous (IV) hematin and IV dextrose. This is a unique case of a rare disease due to her clinical presentation with ileus, unremarkable past medical history, family history, and the prehospitalization and intrahospitalization factors that likely exacerbated the patient AIP.

Acute intermittent porphyria: is oseltamivir safe in these patients?

A 40-year-old man attended the emergency room with abdominal pain and inappropriate behaviour associated with stress, and the consumption of alcohol and cannabis. Examination revealed hypertension (155/100 mmHg), tachycardia (95 beats per minute), abdominal pain and leucocytosis with neutrophilia, hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia. Urine was positive for nitrites, elevated bilirubin and cannabinoids. The patient was diagnosed with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) and immediately treated. After initial treatment, the patient improved. However, he subsequently relapsed after initiating treatment with oseltamivir for a flu-like illness. Treatment was discontinued and the patient progressed favourably. AIP recurrence could have been mediated by oseltamivir; an association not previously described in the literature.