title: Relationship between porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) and viral hepatitis.
abstract: Recent reports have revealed the high prevalence of serological markers of viral hepatitis in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). We present two cases of PCT associated with hepatitis C and discuss the relationship between PCT and viral hepatitis. Case 1: A 50-year-old Japanese male noticed blisters, erosions, and fragility on sun-exposed areas of his skin in November of 1990. He had no history of excessive alcohol intake. He had been taking analgesics for eighteen years. Case 2: A 64-year-old Japanese male was referred in October of 1989 because of pigmentation on sun-exposed areas of his skin. He had been drinking alcohol excessively for 43 years. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody was present in each case. Tests for the HCV antibody and hepatitis B serological markers were run in 5 other patients. HCV antibody was present in 3 of them. The two cases negative for the HCV antibody exhibited the hepatitis B antibody. We speculated that viral hepatitis infection may play an important role in precipitating PCT in cases with a history of a long term excessive intake of alcohol or chemicals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsukazaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Irifune
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohgami
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nonaka
mesh_terms: D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017119:Porphyria Cutanea Tarda / Q000150:complications*