What are treatments for Variegate Porphyria?
What is Variegate Porphyria? VP is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme protoporphobilinogen oxidase (PPOX). Acute attacks are similar to those in AIP and HCP. Blistering skin lesions are very common. Acute attacks almost always start with severe pain in the abdomen but sometimes in the chest, back, or thighs, and are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Heart rate and blood pressure are commonly increased. These symptoms and signs are all due to the effects of the disease on the nervous system. Confusion, convulsions, and muscular weakness, due to impairment of the nerves controlling the muscles, may lead to paralysis. An acute attack usually lasts for days or weeks. Recovery from severe paralysis is generally slow. Who gets Variegate Porphyria? VP is especially common in South Africa in individuals of Dutch ancestry, and has an incidence of approximately 3 per 1,000 in whites, but is less common than AIP in other countries. VP is due to a mutation, or change, in,
