23/01/2025
💙 DIABETES AWARENESS 💙
Before insulin, a strict diet was the only option for diabetics, which prolonged life for just months or a year at most.
Then everything changed.
In January of 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy with type 1 diabetes, became the first human to receive an insulin injection.
Thompson’s initial injection caused an allergic reaction due to impurities in the insulin derived from a cow’s pancreas. However, within 12 days, researchers refined the formula, and a second dose successfully stabilized his condition, marking a monumental shift in the treatment of diabetes.
This breakthrough stemmed from the efforts of Frederick Banting and Charles Best, who isolated insulin in 1921 and demonstrated its potential by reversing diabetic symptoms in dogs.
Following Thompson’s recovery, the University of Toronto licensed the production of insulin to pharmaceutical companies without royalties, enabling rapid global distribution.
By 1923, insulin was widely available, transforming diabetes from a fatal disease to a manageable condition and earning Banting and John Macleod the Nobel Prize in Medicine—the fastest Nobel recognition ever.
Learn more: https://www.umassmed.edu/dcoe/diabetes-education/patient-resources/first-insulin-injection/
Image source and where to donate to help in the fight against diabetes: https://beyondtype1.org
