Background: To know the lipid profile in patients with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT).
Patients and methods: Serum lipoproteins have been studied in 64 males with PCT: 42 with chronic hepatitis C and 22 seronegatives for hepatitis B and C virus. Thirteen patients without porphyria, but with chronic hepatitis C, and 13 healthy subjects were also studied.
Results: Patients with chronic hepatitis C, with or without PCT, had a decrease of total and VLDL cholesterol (TC and VLDLc) and apolipoprotein (apo) B in comparison with healthy controls and seronegative for hepatitis C virus patients with PCT.
Conclusions: Lipid abnormalities found in PCT are not related with this disease, but with the presence of chronic hepatitis C often associated to PCT.