title: Porphyrin studies in chronic renal failure patients on maintenance hemodialysis.
abstract: Porphyrin studies were performed on 85 chronic renal failure patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Free erythrocyte porphyrins were elevated in 70% of patients, and a significant positive correlation between erythrocyte porphyrin and serum aluminium was found. Although plasma porphyrins were elevated in 58% of our patients, the elevated heptacarboxylic fraction invariably seen in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) was not present in the hemodialyzed patients. Total urine and fecal porphyrins were low, due to a marked decrease in the coproporphyrin and dicarboxylic fractions, respectively. An unequivocal diagnosis of PCT was made in 1 hemodialysis patient whose biochemical findings included an extremely high total plasma porphyrin with a large heptacarboxyl-porphyrin fraction. We found no biochemical evidence for any trend towards PCT in the remaining hemodialysis patients. The porphyrin results on a subgroup of hemodialysis patients with blisters or a history of blisters on sun-exposed skin were similar to those of the hemodialysis patients without blisters.
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D011164:Porphyrias / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011166:Porphyrins; D000535:Aluminum