Summary
Four patients with porphyria cutanea tarda were treated with high oral doses of vitamin E for a period of three months. Their urinary excretion of porphyrins and steroids was studied before and during treatment. Administration of vitamin E decreased urinary porphyrins. It also lowered the amounts of excreted pregnandiol, which had been abnormally high beforehand. The relationship between vitamin E and the metabolism of steroids and porphyrins is discussed. It is suggested that vitamin E may promote greater utilization of porphyrins in hemeproteins, and so might increase the synthesis of the heme-containing enzymes involved in steroid metabolism.
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This research has been supported by a grant No. 70.01. 052.04.115.3839 from the Italian Research Council.
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Pinelli, A., Pozzo, G., Formento, M.L. et al. Effect of vitamin e on urine porphyrin and steroid profiles in porphyria cutanea tarda; report of four cases. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 5, 100–103 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00561753
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00561753