Safety of valproate in porphyria cutanea tarda.

Treatment of epileptic seizures in patients with hepatic porphyrias is a challenging problem due to enzymatic induction activity of phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT), carbamazepine (CBZ), and clonazepam (CZP). We present the case of a patient with partial seizures treated with PHT and showing clinical signs and biochemical abnormalities of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). We withdrew PHT and treated the patient with sodium valproate (VPA). We followed the patient for 6 months during VPA therapy. During this period, clinical signs of PCT disappeared and biochemical values normalized. Our study shows that VPA is a safe treatment in epileptic patients with PCT.