A quantitative assay of porphyrins in leprosy patients. A spectrophotometric study

Quantitative estimations of porphyrin in the blood, urine, and feces of 30 leprosy patients under treatment with dapsone, ten untreated cases, and 100 normal subjects were done by Rimington's method. Dapsone had no adverse effect on porphyrin metabolism because none of the cases of leprosy under study developed statistically significantly raised porphyrin levels in the blood, urine, and stools. Although erythrocyte coproporphyrin levels were significantly higher in leprosy patients than controls and urinary uroporphyrin levels significantly lower, most values fell within the normal range. These differences did not appear to have any clinical significance, and their cause remains unknown.