Acute Intermittent Porphyria, Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome and Hypertensive Emergency, A Review of The Literature

Acute intermittent porphyria is an autosomal dominant inborn error characterized by decreased activity of porphobilinogen deaminase leading to increased levels of haem precursors, namely aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a clinical radiographic syndrome of heterogeneous etiologies characterized by headache, seizures, altered consciousness, and visual disorder associated with potentially reversible neuroradiological abnormalities predominantly in the parieto-occipital lobes. There are few previous reports of acute intermittent porphyria associated with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, which are thought to result from peaks in hypertension.