History of Diabetes for 19 centuries | History of Diabetes In 1900 | History of Diabetes 1921 in Canada | What is the point of treatment?
It is no longer a death sentence
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the diagnosis of diabetes was a death sentence, and it was known to mankind since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, that is, 1000 BC. e. Papyrus with a description of the symptoms in the form of the allocation of a large amount of sweet urine from a dying man was found during excavations of graves.
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For 19 centuries, doctors and scientists were busy describing and defining the disease, coming up with diagnostic methods, and trying different treatment options. But only at the end of the 19th century, during experiments on animals, it was found that the pancreas somehow affects the level of sugar in the blood.
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In 1900, the European pathologist L.V. Sobolev
In 1900, the Russian pathologist L.V. Sobolev studied the function of individual cells (islets of Langerhans), experimentally proving that the secretion of these cells regulates blood sugar. After the work of Sobolev, all the laboratories in the world began to search for technology for extracting from these cells a substance that could treat diabetes.
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1921 in Canada
And in 1921 in Canada, two young scientists, F. Bunting and his assistant C. Best, first isolated a substance from the pancreas, which soon became known as Insulin (Latin “insula” – an islet). For this discovery, Bunting and his colleagues were awarded the Nobel Prize.
Important! The discovery of insulin is the greatest discovery in human history.
One of the first patients of F. Bunting in 1922 was the ten-year-old Geneva Stickelberger, who suffered from diabetes and was close to death. After the first insulin injections, the girl got better! She lived a long, active life, receiving replacement therapy for 61 years. Now a diagnosis like diabetes is no longer a death sentence.
Important! So far, type 1 and type 2 diabetes cannot be cured.
Then what is the point of treatment?
The goal of treatment is to compensate for diabetes, that is, to minimize all its consequences.
All target organs of diabetes mellitus (heart, kidneys, blood vessels, nerve fibers) can be preserved by maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Nowadays, modern medicine has many ways to maintain normal sugar levels for any type of diabetes, as well as treatment options for the organs most affected by the harmful effects of diabetes.
Do not find out about diabetes by waiting for a deterioration in vision or heart disease as a first sign. Buy a home blood glucose meter and at least once a year check your blood sugar.