The Discovery of Insulin

Since ancient times, humans have tried and tested various ways to make life easy.

The modern age gave some amazing advancements in various sectors.

For many, surviving today's time without those advancements can be pretty rough.

However, despite all, there is one discovery which changed the life of many.

Insulin is a greatly used medicine in the current time.

Imagine a scenario with a hospital filled with young children fighting a disease with no cure.

During such scenarios, nothing can be done except praying.

This is how insulin was developed. So here, let's dive deep into the origin story for better information.

Diabetes and insulin

Thousands of kids globally have type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes affects the use of glucose in the body.

The body needs glucose to operate and function properly.

When someone has diabetes, they will face trouble with a hormone called insulin.

The glucose does not get to the cells normally.

Because of which the blood sugar level gets high. Thus, the patient must take proper medical help.

Diabetes before insulin

Before the discovery of insulin, there were 100% chances of people getting diabetes. There was not anything the doctors could do. The patients were put on a strict diet. In fact, some doctors advised taking 450 calories a day which is quite low. This diet has led to the death of many patients due to starvation.

Discovery of insulin

In 1889, the two German researchers Jon von Mering and Oskar Minkowski found when the pancreas gland was removed from the animals, they developed the symptoms of diabetes.

Thus, this gives them an idea about insulin production.

In 1910, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Shafer found a missing chemical in the pancreas of diabetic patients.

The chemical was later termed as insulin.

Finally, in 1921, Frederick Banting, a young surgeon, and his assistant Charles figured out a way to removed insulin from dog pancreas.

However, they didn’t know this was the hope for many.

Using the mixture, they kept the dog with severe diabetes alive for approximately 70 days. However, the dog died when there was no more extract in the body.

Using the success, the researchers and their colleagues John MacLeod and James Collip went a step further and curated insulin from the pancreas of cattle.

Miracle of insulin

In 1922, 14-year boy Leonardo Thompson became the first person to be injected with insulin.

Within 24 hours, his blood sugar level dropped to almost normal. With this powerful medicine in hand, medical professionals can now save the lives of those hospitalized for diabetes.

They injected every kid with insulin to save them from a tragic death.

Finally, the news spread globally. In 1923, MacLeod and Banting received the Nobel prize in medicine.