Insulin: The lucky coin toss and improbable partnership that led to this life-saving elixir
11/14/20 • 45 min
Currently, more than 460 million people have some form diabetes. However, what was once a life-threatening disease is now a manageable condition thanks to the discovery of insulin.
In today’s episode you’ll meet the young Canadian surgeon, Dr. Frederick Banting, and learn how the three sentences he scribbled in the middle of the night changed the course of medical history: “Diabetes. Ligate pancreatic ducts of dog. Keep dogs alive till acini degenerate leaving islets. Try to isolate the internal secretion of these and relieve glycosuria.”
What do these words mean, exactly, and how was it that Banting and his unlikely team of collaborators managed not only to discover life-saving insulin, but to do it in record time?
Listen to find out.
Currently, more than 460 million people have some form diabetes. However, what was once a life-threatening disease is now a manageable condition thanks to the discovery of insulin.
In today’s episode you’ll meet the young Canadian surgeon, Dr. Frederick Banting, and learn how the three sentences he scribbled in the middle of the night changed the course of medical history: “Diabetes. Ligate pancreatic ducts of dog. Keep dogs alive till acini degenerate leaving islets. Try to isolate the internal secretion of these and relieve glycosuria.”
What do these words mean, exactly, and how was it that Banting and his unlikely team of collaborators managed not only to discover life-saving insulin, but to do it in record time?
Listen to find out.
Previous Episode
X-Rays: This invisible diagnostic light was born in the dark 125 years ago
Photographs. Sometimes they capture a moment. Sometimes they tell a story. And sometimes, a photograph can change the world. This month, join us as we revisit the discovery of the x-ray and how it would change patient care forever.
How do x-rays work? And how did the world react when we could finally see inside our bodies? Listen to find out.
Shownotes:
Thank you to Kathy Joseph of the YouTube series, Kathy Loves Physics and History. Watch her show now. LINK
For graphics associated with this episode please visit www.gamechangersinmedicine.com.
Next Episode
Insulin: The bonus episode
Last month's episode focused on the incredible twists and turns that resulted in Dr. Frederick Banting’s discovery of insulin in the early 1920s. Today, we’ll hear more from our expert panelists.
Dr. Jay Skyler of the Diabetes Research Institute shares anecdotes from the early days of his medical career running a summer camp for children with diabetes and updates us on the search for a cure for diabetes. Toby Smithson, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist, shares more of her deeply personal story of living with Type 1 diabetes from the age of eight. We’ll also hear from Dr. H. Franklin Bunn. He is the co-discoverer of the hemoglobin A1C measurement—a breakthrough that was instrumental in developing the test now routinely used to diagnose diabetes, prediabetes, and to monitor blood sugar.
We hope you enjoy this episode.
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