[Rupture of a giant hematoma of the liver as a complication of anticoagulant therapy].

Authors report on a case of a 46-year-old woman, as a rare complication of anticoagulant therapy. Rupture of giant haemangioma of the liver developed after Syncumar treatment. They describe the successful resection of the ruptured tumor, which caused haemorrhagic shock.

[Immunomodulator effect of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases].

The effects of the hepatoprotective, antioxidant drug silymarin (Legalon) on some cellular immune parameters of patients with histologically proven chronic alcoholic liver disease were studied in a six month double blind study. The lectin induced proliferative activity of the lymphocytes got enhanced, the originally low T cell percentage and the originally high CD8+ cell percentage have been normalized, the antibody-dependent and natural cytotoxicity of the lymphocytes decreased during silymarin therapy. All these changes were significant, while in the placebo group no significant changes occurred, except for a moderate elevation of the T cell percentage.

[Effect of silimarin (Legalon) therapy on the antioxidant defense mechanism and lipid peroxidation in alcoholic liver disease (double blind protocol)].

A double blind study. Antioxidant and antiperoxidative effects of the free radical scavenger agent silymarin (Legalon) were investigated in patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease in a double blind clinical trial. Six month treatment (at a daily dose of 420 mg) with silymarin significantly enhanced the originally low superoxide dismutase activity of erythrocytes and lymphocytes and also restored the diminished superoxide dismutase expression on lymphocytes as measured by flow-cytofluorimetry.

[Liver-protective action of silymarin therapy in chronic alcoholic liver diseases].

The effects of silymarin (Legalon) therapy on liver function tests, serum procollagen III peptide level and liver histology were studied in 36 patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease in a six month double blind clinical trial. During silymarin treatment serum bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase and alanin-aminotransferase values have been normalized, while gamma-glutamyl transferase activity and procollagen III peptid level decreased. The changes were significant, and there was a significant difference between post-treatment values of the two groups, as well.