Hemopyrrollactamuria

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Hemopyrrollactamuria (HPU), cryptopyrroluria (KPU), pyrroluria or malvaria (after the mauve-like color) is a syndrome postulated by supporters of orthomolecular medicine . Neither the existence of the disease itself nor the effectiveness of therapies directed against it have so far been proven.

origin

This postulated syndrome was first mentioned by the psychiatrist Abram Hoffer in the 1960s. There he found a substance in the urine of patients with alcoholism using LSD was treated; also in patients with schizophrenia . After paper chromatography , that substance could be colored purple with the addition of Ehrlich's reagent . Because of this coloration, it was given the name " Mauve factor". Hoffer identified this “factor” as a pyrrole derivative and referred to it as “cryptopyrrole”. He and others hypothesized that there was a link between this factor and vitamin deficiency. Therefore Hoffer speculated that high doses of vitamins ( megavitamin therapies ) would have to have an effect on a large number of psychiatric and neurological diseases.

According to the definition, HPU is a genetic or acquired metabolic disorder that leads to a deficiency of vitamin B 6 and zinc in particular due to the (increased) excretion of pyrroles in the urine . Carl Curt Pfeiffer in particular was one of the most important advocates of the view that these pyrroles bond with vitamin B 6 and zinc. However, this cannot be proven in the blood. According to Pfeiffer, pyrrole in the urine indicates that there is a loss of zinc and pyridoxal in those affected, as well as a disease of the heme metabolism . A disturbed build-up or breakdown of hate is a consequence in patients with psychiatric symptoms.

HPU is a form of porphyrinuria with numerous symptoms.

criticism

The benefit of megavitamin therapy postulated by Hoffer was disproved in several studies as early as the 1970s; a double-blind study also showed no benefit of megavitamin therapy in schizophrenia.

The pharmacist Hellmann mentioned some dubious points in the medicine telegram . There he also mentions Dutch authors who critically examined hemopyrrolactamuria in 2003 and even speak of a "pseudo-disease". The danger is that hypochondriacs can take over the diagnosis and then pay for expensive therapies.

Urine tests are offered in several countries to diagnose a wide variety of diseases (including bipolar disorders , schizophrenia, and depression ). However, there is no reliable evidence for the usefulness and effectiveness of these test procedures.

Overall, the hypotheses expressed in the earlier literature about a connection between pyrroles in the urine and various diseases were not confirmed. This means that the "HPU" is a finding that cannot be assigned to any disease according to scientific criteria.

literature

  • (Crypto-) pyrroluria in environmental medicine: a valid diagnosis? In: Robert Koch Institute (Ed.): Federal Health Gazette . October 5, 2007 ( rki.de [accessed January 20, 2020]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b J. W. van der Meer et al .: [Hemopyrrollactamuria (HPU); from spots to pseudo-disease] . In: Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde . tape 147 , no. 36 , September 6, 2003, p. 1720-1721 , PMID 14520795 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Stuart L Jones, Bruce Campbell, Tanya Hart: Laboratory tests commonly used in complementary and alternative medicine: a review of the evidence . In: Annals of Clinical Biochemistry: International Journal of Laboratory Medicine . tape 56 , no. 3 , February 27, 2019, p. 310-325 , doi : 10.1177 / 0004563218824622 .
  3. ↑ a b c d (Crypto-) pyrroluria in environmental medicine: a valid diagnosis? In: Robert Koch Institute (Ed.): Federal Health Gazette . October 5, 2007 ( rki.de [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  4. ↑ PL Gendler, HA Duhan and H. Rapoport: Hemopyrrole and kryptopyrrole are absent from the urine of schizophrenics and normal persons . In: Clinical Chemistry . tape 24 , no. 2 , February 1978, p. 230-233 , PMID 627053 .
  5. ↑ HEYLL, U .: Medicines, Therapy Criticism 2009 / Volume 4: 860-4
  6. ↑ CRYPTOPYRROLURIA - WHAT TO THINK OF IT? .