Insulin - A Canadian Breakthrough
On the 18th Jan 1904, Wilfrid Laurier proclaimed that "The twentieth century belongs to Canada." A Prime Minister’s confidence in his country’s future or a premonition of what was to come?
Well, certainly in the history of therapeutics, the latter is definitely the case. For seventeen years later in 1921 a young Canadian surgeon, Frederick G. Banting and his associate Charles Best successfully isolated insulin.
The importance of insulin cannot be stressed enough. It helps in the storage of sugar as carbohydrates and has a key role in controlling the level of glucose in the blood stream. Produced in the pancreas by the Islets of Langerhans it is essential for life. Without it, Diabetes Mellitus ensues, a disease that has been documented for thousands of years by its recognisable characteristics: An unquenchable thirst, the need to constantly urinate, weight loss and an early death.
Interest and research into the disease were never lacking, merely the scientific techniques that would result in a breakthrough. The first step on the path leading to the therapeutic revolution in the treatment of diabetes came to Frederick Banting on the 30th October 1920. Banting had been preparing lecture notes on the relation of the pancreas to diabetes and found himself picking up the latest edition of ‘Surgery Gynaecology and Obstetrics’. An article by Moses Baron provided the catalyst for Banting’s thoughts. He was struck by clarity at 2am and he scribbled down a method for isolating the secretion (insulin) from the Islets of Langerhans before pancreatic enzymes could destroy it.
Brief Chronology of Key Steps in Insulin Research up to and beyond 1921
Banting had had the idea. Converting it into a reality would prove the next challenge. Finding a lab in which to conduct his research would mean having to convince the sceptics that he unlike others would find success. One of those sceptics was J.J.R. Macleod- a professor at the University of Toronto. Banting eventually persuaded Macleod to lend him an unused lab for the summer and the help of a research associate. As luck had it, Charles Best won this position by the flip of a coin. In doing so, he lost his summer vacation, but found himself falling into medical history.
By the Autumn of 1921 Banting and Best had found success in their experiments with diabetic dogs. In order to obtain a purer extract of the insulin, J.B. Collip a biochemist was brought on board. With his help, the first human patient was treated with the crude insulin extract by January 1922. The trial resulted in the well-documented revival of the young fourteen-year-old diabetic. Ultimately, success creates converts out of sceptics and Macleod on seeing the progress made by this young upstart, turned his lab’s resources to the research and further purification of insulin.
Of course no discovery would be complete without the rumours of internal strife. The 1923 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Banting and … Macleod. Perhaps both Best and Collip should have gained official recognition as well. However, ultimately history cannot be changed, and we in the present can only ensure that the names of Best and Collip are as entwined in the discovery and purification of insulin as the already recognised Banting and Macleod.
Insulin’s discovery in 1921 was only the beginning for a protein that was to have an ‘illustrious’ career,’ and seemingly a preference for those named Frederick! It became the first protein to be fully sequenced by Frederick Sanger, who later won the 1959 Nobel Prize for his endeavours. However, in relation to diabetes, the next most significant breakthrough had to wait until the 1980’s with the introduction of biosynthetic insulin.
The new millennium will undoubtedly bring other significant advances, not only in the development of more sophisticated delivery systems; but also in the cure of the disease. Research into Islet transplantation and the genetic engineering of Islet cells, is ongoing. However, for now and for the near future, administered insulin continues to be a lifeline for people with diabetes. Thus, there can be no doubt that the Canadian breakthrough in 1921, truly marked the birth of a new era in the treatment of diabetes.
Heidi Russell is Public Relations Associate at >PRTM
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not of PRTM, or Advances in Life Science
Keywords : Insulin Diabetes mellitus Treatment Toronto, Canada Banting & Best History Discovery
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