In our world today, millions of diabetics lead normal lives, different from everyone else only in that they may need insulin injections sometimes. We may not think about it much today, but there was an incredible upheaval behind the invention of insulin treatment, a story that is distinctly Canadian.
One of the major functions of insulin is to communicate with body cells and make them take up glucose from the bloodstream.
Dr. Fredrick Banting was a medical scientist teaching classes at Western University. He was inspired to study diabetes from an article that he read on the inner workings of the pancreas. While the presence of insulin as a protein that caused the breakdown of glucose was well known, many scientists had difficulty extracting insulin from pancreatic cells, as the pancreas also produces enzymes that break down other proteins including insulin. Banting’s technique for the isolation of insulin was ingenious: he tied off the pancreatic duct to kill the cells that produced the enzyme that broke down other proteins and then isolated the insulin. Starting in 1921, Banting worked with Charles Best, J.J.R. Macleod, and James Collip in a laboratory at the University of Toronto to begin to isolate insulin. They continued to work, with plenty of trial and error, with each solution that they isolated becoming purer. On January 11th of 1922, the first injection of an insulin extract was given to a child at the Toronto General Hospital. However, due to impurities in the extract, the boy suffered an allergic reaction. Banting and his team would work to continue to purify the extract, and in 12 days a purer extract was given to the same boy, who responded extremely well this time. News of this invention spread, and soon large companies were assisting in the purification of more insulin. Insulin was soon commercially available. Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923, which they shared with Best and Collip.
A photograph of Charles Best, left, and Dr. Fredrick Banting, right.
Prior to the isolation of insulin, Type 1 Diabetes essentially guaranteed death for afflicted individuals. With the purification of insulin by Banting and his team, millions are now able to lead normal lives instead of suffering from diabetic conditions. This medical innovation was one of the most impactful events in Canadian history – in fact, Banting garnered the fourth most votes in voting for “The Greatest Canadian.” Banting’s contribution to insulin treatment has positively benefitted countless people, and is, without a doubt, a great source of Canadian pride.
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