Events History

11 Jan : First dose of Insulin did miracle 98 years back

India is the Diabates Capital of the World. On an average, an India gets Diabetes 10 years earlier than his western counterparts. Diabetes is not one disease, rather it is several different diseases in one.

Insulin, the cure for Diabetes, was used for the first time today in 1922. A 14 year old boy Leonard Thompson created history by getting treatment of insulin and fighting diabetes. First dosage cured diabetes by bringing blood sugar level normal. Although it had some allergic reaction, and after further testing, second dosage was absolutely fine. Thompson lived with regular doses of insulin and apparently died of pneumonia at the age of 27.

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Prior to this diabetes was a fatal disease. The cure, Insulin, was first extracted from a dog’s pancreas and tested. It was discovered in 1921, by Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod at the University of Toronto and it was subsequently purified by James B Collip. Banting and Mcleod received the Nobel Prize in medicine for this, which they shared with Best and Collip.

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According to WHO, Diabetes is currently one of the biggest health concerns in the World.

Facts : India

- The number of diabetics in India - Approx. 62 million.
- An increase of 10 million from 2011.
- By 2030, over 100 million people in India are likely to suffer from diabetes.
- Approximately one million Indians die each year due to diabetes.
- 50 percent diabetics in India, are not aware of their condition.
- Genetic factors are the greatest contributors to the rapid spread of diabetes.

#Hindi 
डायबिटीज़ दुनिया के लिए एक बड़ी चिंता है लेकिन लाइलाज नहीं है। शुक्रिया सर फ्रेडरिक जे बैंटिंग, जे जे मैक्लॉयड और चार्ल्स हर्बर्ट बेस्ट का, जिन्होंने इनसुलिन का आविष्कार कर इस बीमारी को जानलेवा नहीं रहने दिया। आज ही 1922 में इनसुलिन को पहली बार टेस्ट किया गया था। 14 साल के लियोनार्ड थॉमसन को सबसे पहले ये दवा दी गई थी। जिसके बाद उनका ब्लड-शुगर लेवल काबू में आ गया था। पहली खुराक से उन्हें थोड़ी एलर्जी भी हुई थी। इनसुलिन के नमूनों पर जेम्स बी कोलिप ने कुछ और टेस्ट किए। नतीजा ये हुआ कि दूसरी खुराक ने लियोनार्ड की ज़िंदगी ही बदल दी। आज का दिन डायबिटीज़ के हर मरीज़ के लिए जीवनदान का दिन है।

Science journalist | Anchoring & Conceptualising Science Infotainment Shows for Vigyan Prasar, Doordarshan & All India Radio | Indie Writer & Filmmaker | GOI Projects | Sci-Expert @ CIET, NCERT | 16 yr Experience

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