Vampires Among Us

Reality in Fiction

By: Blaque Smith

• Porphyria Then

• Porphyria Now

Main Topics

Porphyria Then…What where their symptoms?

• Sensitivities and other physical ailments.

• Flesh is eaten away.

• Aggression/Mental.

Sensitivities and Other Physical Ailments

• Sensitivities to sun light

• Garlic

• Chest and abdominal pains

Flesh is eaten away

• Flesh eating toxins

• Nose and ears

• Lips begin to recede

Aggression/Mental

• Violence

• Confusion

• Anxiety

• Irritability • Insomnia

What Happened to Those Infected?

• Medical attention

• Religion and its leaders

• Living their lives

How Their Lives Became Lore

• Disfigurement • Light sensitivities

• Garlic

• Blood remedies

• Religious relics

Porphyria Now…Today, scientists have discovered different strains of the

virus.

• Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP)• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT)

• Congenital Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (CEP)

What is Porphyria?

• Porpheryins cause changes in heme.

• Heme is turned into a toxic substance

• Heme carries oxygen and removed carbon dioxide.

Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP)

• When do symptoms appear?

• What are the symptoms?

• What are the treatments?

Symptoms

• Abdominal pain and cramping• Nausea and vomiting

• Heart arrhythmia• Seizures• Hallucinations• Depression

When do symptoms occur?

• Symptoms generally occur after puberty.

• Attacks can last days, even weeks.

Treatments• Heme intravenously.

• Hematin• Heme albumin• Heme arginate

• Glucose intravenously• Drugs to control symptoms

• Pain• Nausea• Anxiety• Insomnia

Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT)

• When do symptoms appear?

• What are the symptoms?

• What are the treatments?

-Most common form-

Symptoms

• Blisters• Skin thickens

• Sun sensitivity

• Skin heals slowly

• Skin can become fragile

• Skin is susceptible to infection

When do symptoms occur?

• Not inherited, but acquired

Treatments

• Blood removal• Low doses of antimalarial drugs

• Chloroquine• Hydroxychloroquine

• Radiology imaging

Congenital Erythropoietic

Protoporphyria (CEP)

• When do symptoms appear?• What are the symptoms?

• What are the treatments?

-Extremely rare-

Symptoms

• Sun sensitivity • Reddish urine

• Excess hair growth• Reddish-brown teeth• Hemolytic anemia

• Skin becomes fragile• Blisters

When do symptoms occur?

• Early infancy• Sun sensitivity• Reddish urine

• Acquired later in life

Treatments

• Oral beta-carotene• Oral charcoal

• Aids porphyrin excretion from stool

• Blood transfusions• Splenectomy-removal of splene• Bone marrow transplants

Conclusion

• Through a historical disease folk lore was created.

• Fear gripped those who didn’t understand.

• Better understanding of the disease today.

BibliographyKoppy, Lawrence. (March 2013) “The Vampire Disease” http://suite101.com/article/the-vampire-disease-a163962Wood, Debra. (2013) “Porphyria” Lifescript; Healthy Living for Women http://www.lifescript.com/health/a-z/conditions_a-z/conditions/p/porphyria.aspx?trans=1&du=1 Elizabeth Bathory (2013) www.elizabethbathory.com Elizabeth Bathory: The Blood Countess www.elizabethbathory.netIMDb www.imdb.com National Human Genome Research Institute www.genome.gove/19016728 Vampire Facts www.vampirefacts.netVlad the Impaler (2009) www.vladtheimpaler.com