PORPHYRIA: The vampire disease

Have you ever admired of those vampires of Twilight and Vampire Diary? Yes, of course you would have. You might even have thought whether they exist today. Yes vampires are real. But as you think they are not such blood sucking creatures as you see in movies and serials. It is a disease called PORPHYRIA. It is a rare inheritable genetic disorder. This disease is preset for about many years but only few know about it.

Porphyrins are chemicals present in our body, which help in the production of  hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a very important element of our blood cells , which helps in carrying oxygen to other parts of our body. Porphyrin Precursors are converted to hemoglobin with the help of certain enzymes. This process of conversion takes place in various steps.

In Porphyria , there is a deficiency of these enzymes. As a result of which Porphyrin and their precursors are produced in excess and they accumulate in the body. This accumulation is toxic.

There are two types of PORPHYRIA i.e., Acute Porphyria and Cutaneous porphyria.  Acute Porphyria affects the nervous system as a result of which the patient suffers from severe abdominal pain, vomiting, acute neuropathy, muscle weakness, seizures, and mental disturbances like hallucinations, depression, anxiety, and paranoia etc. Whereas Cutaneous porphyria affects the skin and makes the skin photosensitive, blisters, necrosis of the skin and gums, increase hair growth etc..

I have already mentioned some of the symptoms above yet there more symptoms like high sensitive to light, reddish-brown urine and teeth, mutilation of
the nose, ears, eyelids, and fingers, an excess of body hair, and anemia. In extreme case the victim suffers from heart palpitation and rapid heart beat. Acute Porphyria can be fatal. Doctors widely advice the patients to take a diet with high quantity of carbohydrates. Mostly drugs like Hematin and Haem Arginate are prescribed by doctors of USA and United Kingdom for Porphyria. But these drugs are effective only if taken at the starting stage.