RESUMO
Pruritus was present in one half of our cases and ran parallel to the disease, thereby suggesting a causal relationship between it and PCT. Moreover, no correlations could be established between pruritus and the patients' sex, associated treatments (oestrogens, etc.) or underlying disease (liver damage, diabetes mellitus, cancer, hypersideraemia), nor between pruritus and the form of PCT (sporadic or familial) and the levels of urinary porphyrins. Pruritus localized to sun-exposed skin areas belongs to the category of phototoxic symptoms, although a burning sensation is more often observed in such cases, but this cannot explain the generalized pruritus. Immunoglobulin and complement deposits in the vessel walls have been demonstrated in PCT. In addition, the serum of PCT patients may, when irradiated, activate the classical complement pathway, thus promoting the release of mediators. Pro-inflammatory enzymes probably play a secondary role.
