Chloroquine in the Treatment of Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

Abstract

The frequency of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) has been increasing greatly and its incidence at present in our country can be estimated to one case in 2000–5000 inhabitants. A striking fact is an apparent shift in the incidence of the disease to younger age groups. Analysis of causes of the increasing frequency of PCT lies beyond the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, we would like to point to the indisputable etiologic role of alcohol consumption as well as to the influence of gradual chemical pollution of the environment. In porphyric patients signs of liver injury can be found frequently, with the degree of liver damage directly proportional to the duration of the disease and to the age of patient. Besides liver cirrhosis and a frequent incidence of hepatoma in cirrhosis in later stages of the disease occurring 100–200 times more often in untreated patients than in normal population, signs of chronic hepatitis confirmed both in biochemical tests and in histologic pictures of liver biopsies can be found most frequently.