Acute Intermittent Porphyria

IN recent years much has been learned about the nature of the metabolic defects in the various porphyrias1 2 3 4 and of the hereditary nature of these conditions.5 , 6 However, there have been few reports of acute intermittent porphyria in children, and the presence of porphobilinogen in the urine of children is an exceedingly rare finding.5 , 7 The syndromes associated with the various porphyrias have been described extensively,5 , 7 , 8 and it is not the purpose of this communication to discuss the clinical features of acute intermittent porphyria. The following case is presented because of the unusual finding of porphobilinogen in the urine of 4 of . . .