Insulin in the treatment of liver diseases

Since the time when Richter first proposed the use of insulin for the treatment of hepatic patients in 1924, considerable clinical material has already accumulated, confirming the effectiveness of this method. Thus, Humbert recommends this therapy in all cases of severe jaundice. Schneider, Yarsh, Vartengorst and others have established a beneficial effect, ”insulin in various cases of liver disease. Jacobi and also Grunenberg obtained good results with insulin-sugar treatment in cases of moderate liver failure and simple catarrhal jaundice. Gertsky and Bamberger report that they were able to observe one case, recovery from extremely severe liver damage (under acute yellow atrophy and phosphorus poisoning). Benes also describes excellent results in two cases of subacute atrophy. In cases where it is necessary to operate on patients during jaundice, Bernard recommends always before the operation to carry out a course of insulin-sugar treatment, which, in his opinion, is a good preventive measure against postoperative complications. Gaberer, using the intravenous effects of glucose and insulin, considers it possible to operate on liver patients even in a coma. In our Union, for the first time, the importance of the use of insulin in liver disease was pointed out by prof. Lepskaya at the IX All-Union Congress of Physicians in 1926. In 1927, Akatova published observations on nine cases of insulin treatment of catarrhal jaundice, and in all cases she received good results: a reduction in the disease from the usual 3-5 weeks to two and even up to one week, a mild course of the disease, a rapid disappearance of dyspeptic symptoms. Eppinger finds the effects of insulin and glucose in so-called "catarrhal jaundice" astounding. Bergman regards insulin administration as progress in the treatment of liver diseases. Good results were also obtained by Klein, Herzler, Boller and Iberrak, and in our Ginzburg Union, however, using a slightly different technique than other authors, which we will discuss below.