AUTHOR AND EDITOR INFORMATION

Section 1 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

INTRODUCTION

Section 2 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

Background

Erythropoietic protoporphyria is a genetic disorder arising from impaired activity of ferrochelatase, the ultimate enzyme of heme biosynthesis. The resultant accumulated excess of its substrate, protoporphyrin, causes 2 principal manifestations: a distinctive cutaneous photosensitivity and hepatobiliary disease. The predominant genotype associated with phenotypic expression is a mutant ferrochelatase allele encoding a defective protein with little or no function coupled with a normal variant allele with low gene expression. Uncommonly, a second mutation of the allele in trans to a mutation has been found in symptomatic individuals. Rarely, acquired somatic mutation or deletion of a ferrochelatase gene secondary to myelodysplasia leads to adult-onset protoporphyric disease.^{1, 2}

Pathophysiology

Protoporphyrin is a lipophilic molecule capable of transformation to excited states by absorption of light energy. Excited-state protoporphyrin mediates photoxidative damage to biomolecular targets in the skin, resulting in immediate phototoxic symptoms variously described as tingling, stinging, or burning that may be followed by the appearance of erythema, edema, and purpura. Excess protoporphyrin is formed during maturation of erythroid cells in the bone marrow and is present at the highest levels in reticulocytes and young erythrocytes. Protoporphyrin escapes from red blood cells into the plasma, from which it is cleared by the liver and secreted into bile. Protoporphyrin-rich bile predisposes the person to gallstone formation. The toxic effects of protoporphyrin deposition in the liver may lead to life-threatening hepatic dysfunction.

Frequency

United States

No registry for erythropoietic protoporphyria is kept for the United States; therefore, accurate data are lacking.

International

Estimates of 1 case in 75,000-200,000 have been reported for some western European populations.

Mortality/Morbidity

• Painful cutaneous photosensitivity reduces the sunlight tolerance of individuals with erythropoietic protoporphyria and may influence their lifestyles over entire lifetimes.
• An increased prevalence of cholelithiasis in both men and women can result in signs and symptoms of gallstone disease at relatively early ages.
• Hepatotoxic effects of excess protoporphyrin deposition have led to progressive liver dysfunction of life-threatening severity in 2-5% of known cases.

Race

Erythropoietic protoporphyria has been reported most often in people with European ancestry, but also in Japanese and East Indian people. The author knows of a Chinese man and a black American parent and child with the disease.

Sex

Protoporphyria occurs equally in males and females.

Age

Photocutaneous symptoms usually appear during childhood, but they also may be noted for the first time in adult life. Gallstones may become symptomatic in young adulthood or in middle age. Liver failure and its complications, including death, have occurred in young adults and an 11-year-old child.

CLINICAL

Section 3 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

History

Uncomfortable sensations in skin exposed to sunlight typically begin during infancy or childhood, most often involving dorsal hands, the face and ears, and occasionally legs and dorsal feet, after short periods of exposure. If exposure is promptly discontinued, visible skin lesions may not ensue. Longer exposure, or multiple exposures on sequential days, can elicit swelling with or without redness in the exposed skin that evolves into sheets of petechiae. This exquisitely painful reaction resolves over several days to leave skin that may appear normal. Eventually, chronic changes may develop that are highly suggestive, but when subtle, can be overlooked.

Individuals with protoporphyria who report skin pain but have minimal objective findings may be considered malingerers until an acute reaction is observed. Gallstones may remain silent or evoke reports of indigestion and/or right upper quadrant abdominal pain consistent with symptomatic cholelithiasis. Individuals with protoporphyria associated with hepatotoxicity may report loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weakness and fatigue, anorexia, malaise, weight changes, pain in the epigastrium or right upper quadrant and back, jaundice, and increasing photosensitivity.

Physical

The acute phototoxic reaction typically includes edema, erythema, and petechiae. Blisters, crusted erosions, and scarring may occur but are less florid and less frequent than in other porphyrias. Chronic changes include shallow, elongated depressions in facial skin, especially over the nose; perioral furrowing; and prematurely aged, thickened, or coarsely textured skin of the dorsal hands, often most prominent over the knuckles. In more severe cases, sclerodermalike waxy induration or a cobblestone texture of the face and hands develops. Mechanical fragility, when present, is less severe than in other porphyrias; hypertrichosis is infrequent.

With progressive liver dysfunction, hepatosplenomegaly and jaundice may develop, as well as signs of increasing cutaneous photosensitivity. End-stage liver disease is signaled by intense jaundice, ascites, vomiting, fever, encephalopathy, axonal polyneuropathy that may progress to paresis and respiratory failure, hemorrhage from esophageal varices, and extreme photosensitivity.

Causes

More than 125 different mutations of the ferrochelatase gene have been identified to date. Loss of ferrochelatase activity by as much as 50% as the result of 1 mutant gene is generally insufficient to cause overt disease when its complementary allele has normal function. Ferrochelatase genotypes composed of either 2 mutant alleles (~4% of cases) or 1 mutation and a nonmutant allele with a specific intronic polymorphism (~95% of cases) have been found in most symptomatic individuals. This polymorphism enhances aberrant splicing and rapid degradation of ferrochelatase mRNA with resultant low expression. The pairing of a mutated allele encoding a severely impaired enzyme protein with a low-expressing normal variant allele typically yields total residual enzyme activity less than 30% of normal, low enough to cause protoporphyrin accumulation.

Adult-onset protoporphyric photosensitivity and increased protoporphyrin levels have been associated with an acquired somatic mutation or deletion of a ferrochelatase gene due to myelodysplastic disorders.^{1, 2} 

DIFFERENTIALS

Section 4 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

Other Problems to be Considered

Other porphyrias
Prurigo aestivalis

WORKUP

Section 5 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

Lab Studies

• The concentration of protoporphyrin is elevated in red blood cells, plasma, bile, and feces. The diagnosis is usually made by finding the abnormal levels in erythrocytes and plasma. Urinary porphyrin levels are normal in patients without liver dysfunction. Abnormal coproporphyrinuria develops when liver function is deteriorating.
• • Erythrocyte and plasma protoporphyrin levels are increased several-fold over the reference range. Fecal protoporphyrin excretion may be increased, but, in many patients, it remains within the reference range.
  • In impending liver failure, the dynamic equilibrium between rates of protoporphyrin production and excretion is altered, producing progressively rising erythrocyte and plasma porphyrin levels and progressively diminishing fecal porphyrin excretion.
• Obtain a complete blood cell count and serum liver function panel at diagnosis. Monitor serum indices of liver function at 6- to 12-month intervals if baseline values are normal. If liver function is abnormal, complicating factors (eg, gallstones, viral hepatitis, alcohol or drug abuse, other toxic, infectious, immunologic, or metabolic storage disorders) should be excluded by appropriate testing.
• Perform a hematological assessment of anemia. Individuals with protoporphyria often have mildly lowered hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, which do not cause symptoms and do not require treatment. The mean corpuscular volume may be below the normal limit.

Imaging Studies

• If cholelithiasis is suspected, abdominal ultrasonography or other imaging procedures are indicated.

Other Tests

• Impending liver failure may be signaled by progressively rising levels of urinary coproporphyrin. Urinary porphyrin levels are within normal limits in persons with uncomplicated erythropoietic protoporphyria. Protoporphyrin, being lipophilic, is not excreted by renal mechanisms and does not normally appear in urine. Coproporphyrin, which accumulates as a result of liver disease, has intermediate water solubility, and levels become abnormally elevated in the urine of patients developing protoporphyrin-induced hepatotoxicity.
• Measurement of ferrochelatase enzyme activity remains a research procedure.  Mutational analysis of the ferrochelatase gene is now commercially available in the United States (see the American Porphyria Foundation for further information).³

Procedures

• In the event of liver dysfunction, liver biopsy may be indicated.
• Liver transplantation may be life saving, but it does not cure protoporphyria because the source of most of the excess protoporphyrin is the bone marrow. Continued overproduction of protoporphyrin eventually leads to protoporphyrin deposition in the engrafted liver, which may again become dysfunctional. While bone marrow transplantation is potentially curative, its risks have warranted its application in only a few cases to date. Research in animal models has shown promising developments in gene therapy strategies that may eventually be transferrable to humans.

Histologic Findings

Light microscopy examination of the acute skin reaction shows perivascular and interstitial neutrophilic dermal infiltrates. Ultrastructural findings in the acute reaction include damage of endothelial cells with extravasation of intravascular contents and degranulated mast cells.⁴

Biopsy specimens of chronically damaged skin show deposition of hyaline masses in the upper dermis and markedly thickened walls of upper dermal capillaries. Ultrastructural findings in chronically damaged skin include replicated basal laminae around dermal vessels, degranulated mast cells, and amorphous dermal deposits. Direct immunofluorescence studies show deposition of immunoglobulins and complement in and around upper dermal vessel walls and, to a lesser extent, at the dermoepidermal junction.

Liver biopsy typically reveals brown pigment in hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, portal macrophages, and small biliary structures. Many of these protoporphyrin deposits are crystalline when examined under electron microscopy and birefringent when examined under polarization microscopy. Cirrhotic changes are seen in advanced disease, including fibrous expansion of portal areas and regenerative nodules.

TREATMENT

Section 6 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

Medical Care

For protoporphyria uncomplicated by hepatobiliary disease, the major problem is lifelong cutaneous photosensitivity. Anemia, if present, typically is mild and rarely requires specific therapy. Cholelithiasis is managed surgically. Liver dysfunction is an ominous development for which medical remedies are not consistently effective. Progressive intractable liver insufficiency is an indication for liver transplantation.

• Shield skin from sunlight by using protective clothing and lifestyle adjustments.
• • Because the wavelengths of light causing porphyrin-sensitized phototoxicity are chiefly in the visible spectrum, window glass is not an effective barrier. Plastic films that attenuate transmission of portions of the visible light and long UV spectra are available and can be applied to window or windshield glass.
  • Topical sunscreens are not effective unless transmission of long UV and visible light rays is reduced by their use. Sun-blocking formulations containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide reflect visible light and may be helpful.
  • Topical sunless tanning gels or creams containing dihydroxyacetone produce superficial pigmentation that blocks some of the offending wavelengths.
  • Induction of endogenous melanin by exposure of skin to broad- or narrow-band UV-B lamps or to UV-A in conjunction with a psoralen UV-A photosensitizer also may increase tolerance to natural sunlight.
• Oral beta-carotene reduces photosensitivity in some, but not all, patients.
• Attenuation of photosensitivity using oral cysteine or pyridoxine has been reported but not widely confirmed.
• H1-receptor antagonists can mitigate histamine-mediated components of the acute reaction, but they rarely suppress all signs and symptoms. Suppression of heme synthesis by inhibition of cytochrome P-450 formation and of heme oxygenase activity is a mechanism proposed for transient improvement of isolated cases of various porphyrias after H2-receptor antagonist use, but it remains unproven.
• Although adverse reactions to porphyrinogenic drugs known to exacerbate acute hepatic porphyrias are not characteristic of protoporphyria, avoid or administer with caution drugs with cholestatic properties, such as estrogenic hormones. Assess the risk-to-benefit ratio for each individual with protoporphyria when considering use of cholestatic therapies.
• Medical approaches to reversing liver dysfunction are not well established, due to inconsistent or uncertain efficacy.
• • Oral sorbents (eg, cholestyramine, charcoal) that reduce enterohepatic recirculation of porphyrin and bile acids to enhance hepatic porphyrin excretion can be tried.
  • Hypertransfusion to slow erythropoiesis and intravenous infusion of heme analogues to repress endogenous porphyrin production have also been used.
  • Administration of iron to enhance protoporphyrin conversion to heme, and of the antioxidant vitamin E, was salutary in some cases but disappointing in others.⁵
  • Plasmapheresis or exchange transfusion to reduce the circulating protoporphyrin burden appeared helpful in a small number of advanced cases.
  • These regimens are often used in combination or rapid sequence in rapidly deteriorating patients and are best instituted by experts in a referral center for advanced liver disease.

Surgical Care

Surgical removal of gallstones usually poses no more risk for individuals with protoporphyria than for the general population, although phototoxic sequelae from high-intensity operating room lighting is a theoretical possibility. Adverse reactions to anesthetic agents problematic in acute hepatic porphyrias are not characteristic of protoporphyria. Failure of medical reversal of protoporphyrin-induced hepatic decompensation warrants liver transplantation. Operating room lamps have caused acute phototoxic damage to skin and internal organs during transplantation. Preoperative exchange transfusions, plasmapheresis, and/or infusion of a heme analogue may lower the circulating burden of protoporphyrin in the blood, reducing intraoperative phototoxic potential. These treatments may also aid postoperatively in retarding the development of protoporphyrin hepatotoxicity in the engrafted liver.

Consultations

• Consultation with a hematologist should be sought for management of anemia or if hypertransfusion, exchange transfusion, or plasmapheresis is considered.
• Referral to specialists at a comprehensive liver center should be arranged at the earliest signs of liver decompensation for assistance in evaluation and management of progressive liver dysfunction. If liver transplantation becomes necessary, a successful outcome is more likely if the procedure is performed before the patient is gravely debilitated.
• Referral to a medical geneticist can aid in counseling patients and families about risks of inheriting or transmitting the mutations and polymorphisms associated with the disease.
• Preoperative consultation with anesthesiologists and biomedical engineers concerning operating room lighting is essential. The intense visible light emitted by surgical lamps can cause intraoperative burns of the skin and internal organs due to the massive protoporphyrin tissue accumulations that result from failure of hepatic excretory mechanisms. Appropriately filtering operating room lamps can block the most harmful portions of the visible light spectrum.

Diet

Do not severely curtail carbohydrate intake; a beneficial glucose effect may be modulating abnormal heme synthesis. Limit use of ethanol; alcohol excess has been implicated in fatal protoporphyria associated with liver failure.

Activity

Sunlight avoidance is mandatory. Recommend adjustment of outdoor activities to avoid midday sunlight. Stylish and comfortable sun-protective clothing is commercially available that can reduce time constraints on many outdoor sports or activities. Specialized programs for photosensitive children can be found that offer safe and healthy recreational experiences, even a summer camp organized by the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society. See Camp Sundown.

MEDICATION

Section 7 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

The only oral photoprotective agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and widely used for treatment of protoporphyria is a synthetic beta-carotene formulation now available OTC as Lumitene. Cysteine has shown benefit in clinical trials. Pyridoxine was reported effective in 2 cases. H1-receptor blockade may reduce symptoms due to mast cell histamine release during acute phototoxic reactions if established prior to exposure. Whether H2-receptor antagonists reproducibly slow porphyrin production in various porphyrias remains unproven.

Liver dysfunction warrants individualized design of therapeutic regimens that may include the administration of enteric sorbents to promote protoporphyrin excretion, bile acids to enhance porphyrin clearance from the liver, and hematin to repress porphyrin production. Combinations of these and other adjunctive agents and modalities may moderate the urgency presented by a failing organ, allowing orderly preparation for an optimal transplantation.

Drug Category: Photoprotectants

Beta-carotene is a scavenger of singlet-exited oxygen and is believed to interfere with the efficiency of porphyrin-sensitized photoxidative damage in the skin. Ingestion of beta-carotene at recommended doses produces carotenodermia after several weeks. Increasing tolerance of sunlight develops during this loading period. Tolerance diminishes over several weeks when treatment is stopped.

Drug Category: Antihistamines

H1-receptor antagonists modulate effects of histamine in skin. If taken prior to anticipated strong sunlight exposure that cannot be avoided, acute reactions may be attenuated to some extent; minimal benefit is expected if taken afterward.

Drug Category: Enteric adsorbents

Agents that bind protoporphyrin in the intestinal lumen promote its excretion by interrupting enterohepatic recirculation, thereby reducing the porphyrin load presented to the liver for clearance.

Drug Category: Antihistamines, H2 blocker

Produce blockade of H2 receptors.

Drug Category: Gallstone dissolution agents

Increasing bile flow enhances secretion of protoporphyrin by the liver into the enteric tract and clearance from the body.

Drug Category: Heme analogues

Intravenous infusion of a heme analogue may repress heme synthesis in liver and bone marrow cells, thereby reducing rate of protoporphyrin overproduction.

FOLLOW-UP

Section 8 of 9  

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

Complications

• Severe neurological dysfunction (eg, encephalopathy, axonal polyneuropathy, respiratory failure) characteristic of attacks of acute porphyrias has been observed in persons with end-stage hepatic failure associated with protoporphyria.
• Pregnancy is not complicated by protoporphyria. Pregnancy does not cause worsening of protoporphyria. Photosensitivity may actually improve during gestation.

Prognosis

• In the absence of hepatic failure, individuals with erythropoietic protoporphyria have normal life expectancies.

REFERENCES

Section 9 of 9

• Authors and Editors
• Introduction
• Clinical
• Differentials
• Workup
• Treatment
• Medication
• Follow-up
• References

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Article Last Updated: Nov 1, 2007