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Baby Diabetes
In the first century AD, Aratacus of Cappadocia in Asia Minor first described and named diabetes. The name came from the analogy that diabetics' urine was like water coming through a siphon. -
Sweet Smells
FIrst noted by Thomas Willis, an Oxford physician, the urine of diabetics was to have a sweet smell. -
Treatment in the Beginning
A surgeon-general to the Royal Artillery, John Rollo, treated a diabetic patient by dietary restriction when little to none was known about diabetes at the time. -
Claude and the Liver
In the early 19th century, a trained pharmacist, Claude Bernard, discovered that the liver stored glycogen and secreted a sugary substance into the blood, assuming that this was the substance that caused diabetes. -
Disproving Bernard's Liver theory
A germn physician, Von Mering, found that removing the pancreas caused diabetes, proving Bernard's liver theory wron. -
Prior to Available Insulin
Before insulin was available for patients to use, they routinely fed a cup of cooking oil a day to children in hope that it would help them process their food. -
1900
Diagnosis: A urine sample would be taken and tested for its' levels of grape-sugar. After receiving these results and looking at the other symptoms, the doctor would determine if the patient has diabetes or not.
Treatment: Treatment would include alkaline-sponge baths, sugar of lead prescriptions, and creosote or clear opium. A recommended diet consisted of non-sugar foods, fresh meats, and very little drink. -
From study to discovery
Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer, an English physiologist, studied the pancreas and was soon led to the discovery of a substance that would normally be produced in non-diabetics, insulin. The word 'insulin" came from the Latin insula, meaning island, which referenced the insulin producing islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. -
the BIG discovery
In Canada, an orthopedic surgeon, Fredrick Banting, was convinced he could find the antidiabetic substance after reading about the pancreas and diabetes. After many failures, Fredrick and his group prepared an extract from the pancreas of a dog. Then, after isolating two other dogs with diabetes, he administered the extract to one and nothing to the other. The dog that received the extract lived and the other died. After the extract was purified by J. Collip, they decided to try it on a human. -
First to receive insulin
A 14 year old boy was the first patient to receive insulin made by Fredrick Banting on January 11, 1922. It ended up lowering his blood sugar and cleared his urine of sugars and other signs of the disease. -
Problems with the 1st Insulin
The very first insulin was a quick, short-acting insulin, requiring it to be injected twice daily. Early patients had to endure intramuscular injections of 5 to 18 mL, resulting in pain and abscesses. -
A whole lot of insulin
Eli Lilly and Company began the commercial production of the substance, many of which were slower-acting insulins. -
1950
Diagnosis: The doctor would complete an exam that included looking at your eyes, the pulse of your carotid arteries and arteries in your feet, and a urine sample.
Treatment: The patient will first have their blood sugar stabilized with insulin and then be put on a special diet consisting of a daily 80 grams of protein, 80 grams of fat, and 160 grams of carbs. They will also have to stay away from alcohol as well as perform urine tests by themselves. -
1998
Diagnosis: A blood test and urinalysis would be completed to show levels of glucose and ketones. High levels of glucose and ketones would tell them that your pancreas isn't producing insulin, meaning you have Type 1 diabetes.
Treatment: You would be admitted to the ICU immediately where insulin and fluids would be administered and your levels will be monitored. Once you have stabilized, you will have to complete daily injections of insulin, monitoring, and a restrictive diet.
