title: Porphyria cutanea tarda with menopausal exacerbation: the possible role of menstruation as natural phlebotomy.
abstract: We describe a 48-year-old woman with a 12-year history of porphyria cutanea tarda who showed a remarkable exacerbation of her eruptions accompanied by high serum levels of iron and ferritin at menopause. As iron storage is known to be a triggering factor of porphyria cutanea tarda, the possible role of menstruation as natural phlebotomy to prevent porphyria cutanea tarda exacerbation is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Funasaka
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bito
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawara
authors.forename: Seitetsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Masamitsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ichihashi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008593:Menopause; D008598:Menstruation / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010507:Periodicity; D018962:Phlebotomy; D017119:Porphyria Cutanea Tarda / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron