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this is a little known blood disease which some believe is linked tp vampire mythology. has anybody else ever heard of it and if so do they know where i can find some information on the subject?

online medical sites would probably be the best sources online, try webmd.com to get started

i don't recall hearing of it being linked with vampire myths.
interesting concept though
i'd like to hear more on that if anyone has some information...
nothing i looked up even suggested the theory

there is, however a lot of information on the disorders around the web

i found some interesting information at:
http://www.porphyriafoundation.com/about_por/index.html

Yes it has DWM,I was actually over going thru the archive..thought Id bring this over..

https://www.vampirerave.com/forum/message.php?message=14916&group=1&catid=1

In January 1964, L. Illis' 1963 paper, "On Porphyria and the Ætiology of Werwolves", was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. Later, Nancy Garden made a connection between porphyria and the vampire belief in her 1973 book, Vampires. However, in 1985, biochemist David Dolphin's paper for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, "Porphyria, Vampires, and Werewolves: The Aetiology of European Metamorphosis Legends", gained widespread media coverage, thus popularizing the connection.

The theory has since faced heavy criticism, especially for the stigma it has placed on its sufferers. Norine Dresser's American Vampires: Fans, Victims, Practitioners (1989) treats the matter with more depth. The theory also operates on a highly-flawed premise: mainly in regards to a perceived harmful effect sunlight had on vampires. But this is a much more recent innovation in vampire "lore": its origin is from 1922, with the release of vampire movie, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens.

Porphyria cutanea tarda presents clinically as a pathological sensitivity of skin exposed to light causing scarring, hair growth and disfiguration. Additionally, it was believed that the patients' missing heme could be absorbed through the stomach, correlating with the legends' hematophagy.[13]
Source: Wiki

excellent information,
thanks dabbler

and thank you Oceanne, i'm going to read that thread now
since my interest is perked

a very complex condition indeed.

indeed

i admit i don't know much about this subject but after reading the other thread and various pages on it i can see how the scarring and burning of the skin, that is common with suffers,lends it's self to the vampire image

what i really found interesting was that porphyria is a group of disorders not just a single disease.

if nothing else i've been educated

I've heard of it. Like everyone has said, look at medical sites

There is no room for discussion here.


Unless you wish to expand a bit more on this topic I'll see no reason for it to remain open.

thank you all for the information the reason i wanted to know is because a friend of mine is in hospital and might have this illness. is there anyone on this site who know of someone with this illness? Also who thinks that there is more to the vampire legend than this?

Surprisingly enough, it's a very rare illness... I don't know anyone with it, but I have read up on it, and I have heard a lot about it. Porphyria was thought to be the origin of many "mythical" creatures, such as vampires and werewolves.

It had a scurvy-like effect on the gums, making the teeth appear longer, and blood leak from the mouth. The people affected by this disease craved blood because they themselves became anemic and hemorrhaged, thus physically craving the blood that they lost.

Porphyria is one one the most mysterious diseases in the history of vampirism and it's origin.

Porphyrias can be classified in several ways. Classification according to the specific enzyme deficiency is the most accurate. A simpler classification system distinguishes porphyrias that cause neurologic, mental, and abdominal symptoms (acute porphyrias) from those that cause skin photosensitivity (cutaneous porphyrias). A third classification system is based on whether the excess precursors originate primarily in the liver (hepatic porphyrias) or primarily in the bone marrow (erythropoietic porphyrias). Some porphyrias are classified into more than one of these categories.

References and further readings:

Porphyrias-Merck

Porphyria & King George III

Porphyria & Vampires

Its most famour sufferer as George II but it has been linked with what might be classed as supernatural states, as ergot poisoning has been blamed for wicthcraft

As it seems the author doesn't wish to expand this subject any further, I see no reason for this to remain open.