[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by OBXNana

Having lived through it, been involved with both organizations, I will simply say, we will agree to disagree.

There is nothing at all to disagree about.
You lived through it with your mom. I believe you.
Yes, many diseases mimic each other.

What I meant was that Alzheimers & Porphyria are two distinctly different things, however, anyone can have dementia.....

My mom, nor any of her elderly friends in the Alzheimer wing, had porphyria. Thankfully not.

However, I had two younger friends, one with systemic lupus and the other with discoid lupus, both with a photosensitivity to the sunlight.......who had the cutaneous type of porphyria (on their face and hands} One had psychotic events which might today be "labeled" as DEMENTIA, BUT BACK THEN WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE DRUGS such as chloroquine (sp?), prednisone, plaquinil, etc. They didn't live long enough to grow old.

It was called "psychotic events" at the time.....not dementia.

YOUR POST:

""My mother was diagnosed with Dementia. We did an autopsy after her death and her brain indicated no signs of the disease.""

""She was diagnosed with Porphyria in 1957. Many diseases mimic other diseases. ""

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http://www.dermnet.com/images/Porphyrias/photos/1

Photos of Porphyria on above hyperlink......several pages worth.

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Porphyria symptoms

Porphyrias involve three major symptoms:Abdominal pain or cramping (only in some forms of the disease) · Light sensitivity causing rashes, blistering, and scarring of the skin (photodermatitis) · Problems with the nervous system and muscles (seizures, mental disturbances, nerve damage). ...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002188/

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Porphyria
Porphyrias are a group of rare disorders passed down through families, in which an important part of hemoglobin, called heme, is not made properly. Heme is also found in myoglobin, a protein found in certain muscles. Also known as: Acute intermittent porphyria · Congenital erythropoietic porphyria · Erythropoietic protoporphyria · Hereditary coproporphyria

The acute, or hepatic, porphyrias primarily affect the nervous system, resulting in abdominal pain, vomiting, acute neuropathy, muscle weakness, seizures and mental disturbances, including hallucinations, depression, anxiety and paranoia. Cardiac arrhythmias and tachycardia (high heart rate) may develop as the autonomic nervous system is affected. Pain can be severe and can, in some cases, be both acute and chronic in nature. Constipation is frequently present, as the nervous system of the gut is affected, but diarrhea can also occur.

Given the many presentations and the relatively low occurrence of porphyria, the patient may initially be suspected to have other, unrelated conditions.

For instance, the polyneuropathy of acute porphyria may be mistaken for Guillain-Barré syndrome, and porphyria testing is commonly recommended in those situations.[5] Systemic lupus erythematosus features photosensitivity and pain attacks and shares various other symptoms with porphyria.[6]

Not all porphyrias are genetic, and patients with liver disease who develop porphyria as a result of liver dysfunction may exhibit other signs of their condition, such as jaundice.

Patients with acute porphyria (AIP, HCP, VP) are at increased risk over their life for hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer) and may require monitoring. Other typical risk factors for liver cancer need not be present.

The cutaneous, or erythropoietic, porphyrias primarily affect the skin, causing photosensitivity (photodermatitis), blisters, necrosis of the skin and gums, itching, and swelling, and increased hair growth on areas such as the forehead. Often there is no abdominal pain, distinguishing it from other porphyrias.

In some forms of porphyria, accumulated heme precursors excreted in the urine may cause various changes in color, after exposure to sunlight, to a dark reddish or dark brown color. Even a purple hue or red urine may be seen.