History of Diabetes

History of Diabetes

Scientists Around the World are Hard at Work Looking for Better Treatments and a Cure

• First century B.C. – Ancient Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia coins the term diabetes.
• Ancient Indians call diabetes 'sweet urine disease.' They would observe whether ants were attracted to urine as a test for the disease
• 1425 – The word diabete is first recorded in English in a medical text.
• 1675 – English physician Dr. Thomas Willis adds the word mellitus, Latin for “honey,” to the term diabetes, due to the sweet taste of diabetic urine.
• 1900 – Based on animal resesarch, Drs. Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski discovered that the pancreas plays a role in diabetes.
• 1910 – Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer dubs the chemical produced by the pancreas insulin.
• 1922 – The first diabetic patient is treated with insulin injections, resulting in the treatment team’s receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923.
• 1936 – Type 1 diabetes is distinguished from type 2 diabetes by Sir Harold Percival Himsworth.
• 1942 – The first sulfonylureas are identified.
• 1970s - Self monitoring of Diabetes became possible with the creation of the personal glucose monitor.
• 1977 – The radioimmunoassay for insulin is discovered by Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson.
• 1988 – Dr. Gerald Reaven identifies metabolic syndrome.
• 1990s – Thiazolidinedione is identified as an effective insulin sensitizer.
• 2003 - Scientists found cells from the spleen can transform into insulin-producing cells.
• 2006 - Exubera, the first dry powder inhaled insulin was approved by the FDA for use
• 2007 – A trial of 15 newly diagnosed patients treated with stem cells raised from their own bone marrow showed that most of the patients no longer required insulin treatment for extended periods of time.
• 2008 - Novocell Researchers were able to turn embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing cells in mice. And after the mice's insulin-producing cells had been destroyed, the new cells kept their blood sugar levels in check
• 2008 - Salsalate - a drug used for helping with joint pain, has been found to lower blood sugar levels. It is safe, effective, already approved for joint pain and inexpensive. Thought to be a new discovery, it was later found that mention was made in a medical journal over 130 years ago that salicylate, the simple form of salsalate, was used to treat a patient with diabetes

As you can see, the history of diabetes spans centuries, but technology is helping to increase strides towards a cure. New breakthroughs are being made with increasing frequency. With hard work and a little luck, we can hope that there will be a cure within our lifetime.