Diabetes became treatable in 1921 with the discovery and isolation of insulin.
The Landmark Discovery of Insulin
Prior to 1921, type 1 diabetes was essentially a death sentence. Individuals diagnosed with this condition had a very short life expectancy. The turning point arrived when Frederick Banting and Charles Best, working in the laboratory of J.J.R. Macleod at the University of Toronto, successfully isolated insulin from the pancreatic islets of dogs.
From Experiment to Lifesaving Treatment
Building upon the earlier work of Oskar Minkowski and Josef von Mering, who demonstrated the link between the pancreas and diabetes, Banting and Best's breakthrough involved extracting insulin and demonstrating its ability to lower blood glucose levels. This was then refined for human use.
The First Human Trials
The first human to receive an insulin injection was 14-year-old Leonard Thompson in January 1922. While the initial extract was not pure enough and caused an allergic reaction, further purification led to a successful outcome. Thompson's health dramatically improved, marking a monumental achievement in medical history.
Impact and Legacy
The discovery and subsequent production of insulin transformed diabetes from a fatal disease into a manageable condition. This groundbreaking work earned Banting and Macleod the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923. They shared their Nobel Prize money with Best and James Collip (who assisted in purifying the insulin extract), recognizing their crucial contributions. Millions of lives have been saved and significantly improved since this discovery. The advent of insulin marked a new era in diabetes care, allowing individuals with type 1 diabetes, and eventually those with type 2 diabetes, to live longer, healthier lives.
