An Gene Mutation Causing a More Severe Retinal Phenotype in a Female Mutation Carrier.

This study describes the clinical features of a pedigree with a novel retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator gene mutation in whom one hemizygous man has a typical manifesting phenotype and three heterozygous women demonstrate a typical carrier phenotype. A fourth heterozygous woman is described with a strikingly severe retinal phenotype and also harbors an independent disease-causing mutation in the gene and an associated systemic phenotype. This study hypothesizes that the mutation in combination with the familial retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator gene variant results in a more severe ocular phenotype than is seen in the other heterozygous women in this pedigree due to a loss of -mediated photoreceptor protection.

Porphyria cutanea tarda, hepatitis C, alcoholism, and hemochromatosis: a case report and review of the literature.

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is associated with estrogen, certain medications, alcohol abuse, hepatitis viruses, and iron overload. Numerous studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of hepatitis C in patients with PCT; therefore, hepatitis screening should be routinely performed on these patients. On the other hand, although studies have long suspected hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) to be an underlying condition of PCT, many physicians have a low index of suspicion.