[Hematin treatment of porphyric neuropathy].

Abstract

The authors report a case of acute intermittent porphiria with peripheral motor neuropathy and a syndrome of inadequate ADH excretion in a male patient aged 36 years. Treatment with hypertonic glucose and prostigmine did not yield any beneficial results, while a subsequent treatment with hematine (4 mg/kg/day for a period of four days) produced a dramatic improvement in the clinical picture and in ALA and PGB levels. A back-to-normal shift of plasma and urinary electrolytes was also observed. It appears that there was a close relation between the administration of hematine and the clinical-biochemical remission.