title: The porphyrin pathway: the final common pathway?
abstract: When I was learning pathology a wise and knowledgeable mentor described a final common pathway that allows many diseases to overlap in their presentation. This pathway was never identified for it was unknown. Recent books by physicians have suggested that maintaining body balance and/or treatment by a substance could halt or repair damage caused by a wide array of diseases, once again suggesting a common thread amongst diseases. Again no mention was made regarding what was this common denominator. I have been interested in people who have more than one disease, feeling that there must be a link. My interest in the porphyrin pathway has strengthened that impression. Since finding Doss's list of diseases having porphyrin abnormalities unrelated to a porphyria, I have worked on models that would allow me to show a way where porphyrin abnormalities may be a part of the final common pathway for all disease. I have finally decided that a spider's web is that model. The following discussion will attempt to demonstrate that this hypothesis could be true.
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Department, Gentle Dental, Beaverton, Oregon 97229, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Downey
mesh_terms: D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011164:Porphyrias / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011166:Porphyrins