Porphyria Precipitated by Fasting

Abstract

A VARIETY of chemotherapeutic drugs, such as barbiturates, sulfonamides, estrogens and griseofulvin, may precipitate the acute onset of symptoms in patients with acute intermittent porphyria.1 Toxic porphyria in human beings and experimental porphyrinuria in animals have been induced by exposure to several different chemicals.1 , 2 Caloric reduction may have a profound influence on both experimental porphyrinuria and spontaneous acute intermittent porphyria in human beings. The incidence of allylisopropylacetamide-induced porphyria in rats was increased by a reduction of the carbohydrate and protein content of the diet, with a high percentage of porphyrinuria occurring during starvation.2 Welland et al.3 described increased excretion of . . .