2000 Volume 43 Issue 8 Pages 687-693
A 77-year-old male was admitted because of deterioration of liver function in December 1993. He had been diagnosed with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus 8 years previously and had been treated with a daily subcutaneous injection of insulin for the past 4 years. He had also been diagnosed with chronic hepatitisC at the age of 72 years. One month after the start of daily intravenous injection of 80 mg of glycyrrhizin and subcutaneous injection of 26 units of human insulin, the patient experienced a hypoglycemic attack, and pseudoaldosteronism was observed. The glycyrrhizin and insulin doses were reduced, and the patient's blood glucose level and blood pressure became stable. When 80 mg of glycyrrhizin was injected again, it induced anotherhypoglycemic attack, in spite of lower dose of insulin. No hypoglycemic attacks occurred for the next five months, during which lower doses of glycyrrhizin were administered intermittently. The patient died of acute heart failure in August 1994. Autopsy showed chronic active hepatitis and diabetic nephropathy. Glycyrrhizin has various effects on the endocrine system and glycogen metabolism. The findings in this case suggested that glycyrrhizin should be carefully used in elderly patients and patients with diabetes mellitus and multiple organ impairment.
