Pyrrole Disorder



You may have been reading and come across a condition called Pyrrole Disorder. If you want to be accurately tested and treated for pyrrole disorder (also known as mauve factor, pyroluria, kryptopyrole), then you have come to the right page. There are a few things you should know before getting tested and starting treatment and the following gives you an overview of these things.

What is Pyrrole Disorder?

Every human body makes haemoglobin (a protein) for carrying oxygen around the body and carbon dioxide out of your body too.
In the process of making cells and all included in this creation, a by-products called pyrroles is created.  Every body produces pyrroles, but some people produce more which has been contributed to certain physiological symptoms.  Pyrroles use more zinc and vitamin B6 in order to be excreted from the body. For this reason, people with too many pyrroles become deficient in these nutrients.

Other conditions such as digestive problems, stress or growth in children also compound the vitamin and nutrition deficiencies.  There is also a strong genetic tendency to having pyrrole disorder.


What Should I do To Prepare for the Test?

An appointment is recommended to discuss your particular symptoms and requirements. Even though you may feel that this test fits your symptoms and case completely, we are all different and often there will be other requirements running along side of Pyrrole disorder. For example, often patients have digestive problems too as a result of having low zinc levels. Patients may have also sleep problems or have pharmaceutical prescriptions to cover symptoms such as Anxiety or depression.

Before completing the test, , these points should be considered.

  • Supplements containing zinc and vitamin B6 for 5-7 days before testing. 
  • The urine needs to be collected in the morning, but must not be the first void of the day and it is suggested it be mid stream or the second void of the day. 
  • Avoid testing when you are menstruating

For more help from the Cura clinic, contact us or make an appointment


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Pyroluria or Pfeiffer Protocol


Even though you may read about the particular urine test testing specifically for Pyrroles, it is recommended to also test for other factors which are known completely as the Pfeiffer protocol. 

Metallothioneins are proteins whose purpose are to metabolise and regulate metals and there are at least ten known closely related metallothionein proteins expressed in the human body.

In humans, large quantities are synthesized primarily in the liver and kidneys, however they have been found at a number of other sites as well. Its production is dependent on availability of the dietary minerals zinc and selenium, and the amino acids histidine and cysteine.

In a 2001 presentation to the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. William J. Walsh of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center suggested a potential link between metallotionein disorders and autism. Walsh concluded , 

“The absence of Cu and Zn homeostasis and severe Zn deficiency are suggestive of a metallothionein (MT) disorder. MT functions include neuronal development, detoxification of heavy metals, and immune response. Many classic symptoms of autism may be explained by a MT defect in infancy including G.I. tract problems, heightened sensitivity to toxic metals, and abnormal behaviors. These data suggest that an inborn error of MT functioning may be a fundamental cause of autism."

For this reason, it is helpful to test other factors such as vitamin D, Zinc and copper ratios, Ceruloplasmin and whole blood histamine.

To get more guided help and professional support contact the clinic or make an appointment now.


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