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Porfiria - Overview

Nombres alternativos

Porfiria intermitente aguda; Coproporfiria hereditaria; Porfiria eritropoyética congénita; Protoporfiria eritropoyética

Definición:

Las porfirias son un grupo de trastornos hereditarios en los cuales una parte importante de la hemoglobina, llamada hemo, no se produce apropiadamente. El hemo también se encuentra en la mioglobina, una proteína que está en ciertos músculos.

Causas:

Normalmente, el cuerpo produce hemo en un proceso de múltiples pasos y las porfirinas se producen durante varios pasos de este proceso. Los pacientes con porfiria tienen una deficiencia de ciertas enzimas necesarias para este proceso. Esto provoca que se acumulen cantidades anormales de porfirinas o químicos conexos en el cuerpo.

Existen muchas formas diferentes de porfiria y el tipo más común es la porfiria cutánea tardía (PCT).

Drogas, infección, alcohol y hormonas como los estrógenos pueden desencadenar ataques de ciertos tipos de porfiria.

Porfiria cutánea tardía en las manos

Reviewed last on: 2/28/2011
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

Referencias

Anderson K. The porphyrias. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 229.

Wiley JS, Moore MR. Heme biosynthesis and its disorders: porphyrias and sideroblastic anemias. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ Jr., Shattil SJ, et al, eds. Hoffman Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008:chap 38.

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