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Clinical chemistry reagents intended to perform qualitative and/or quantitative chemical analysis of body fluids (typically urine) to determine the level of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a porphyrin precursor. A high level of ALA in urine is found during episodes of the neurological forms of porphyrin disorders (i.e., porphyrias), both inherited and acquired. The measurement of the levels of both ALA and porphobilinogen (PBG), another porphyrin precursor, is used to differentiate among several types of porphyrias and other conditions that are clinically similar to porphyrias (e.g., lead poisoning, characterized by high levels of ALA but normal PBG).
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