Context
It has been successful 100 years after the discovery of Insulin. This discovery and insulin’s rapid clinical deployment effectively transformed type 1 diabetes from a fatal diagnosis into a medically manageable chronic condition.
Key-highlights of the discovery of Insulin
- Insulin was discovered by Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod at the University of Toronto in 1921 — after which it was purified by James B Collip for safer testing on humans.
- It was the greatest medical breakthrough of the 20th century and remains the go-to treatment for type I diabetes globally today.
- By 1920, scientists had understood the cause of type I diabetes, helping them then put together a cure or treatment for it.
- Islets, a cluster of cells in the pancreas that produces insulin, are destroyed when a person is suffering from type I diabetes.
Insulin
- Insulin is a hormone created by pancreas that controls the amount of glucose in your bloodstream at any given moment.
- It also helps store glucose in the liver, fat, and muscles.
- Finally, it regulates the body's metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
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Type 1 diabetes
- Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.
- Insulin is a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy.
- Different factors, including genetics and some viruses, may contribute to type 1 diabetes.
- Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults.
