Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease where the concentration of glucose [glucose: a simple sugar made by the body from food, which is used by cells to make energy in respiration ] in the blood is not controlled properly by the body. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas [pancreas: large gland located in the abdomen near the stomach which produces digestive enzymes and the hormone insulin ] does not produce enough insulin [insulin: A hormone that regulates the level of sugar in the blood. It is produced in the Islets of Langerhans, in the Pancreas. ]. This can lead to high levels of glucose in the blood, which can be fatal.

Banting and Best

You should be able to evaluate experimental data from Banting and Best’s experiments which led to insulin being discovered.

Two doctors, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, made an extract from the pancreas in 1921. The extract had anti-diabetic properties, and they tested it successfully on diabetic dogs. The first tests in humans were carried out in 1922, and were a success too. Some patients who were in a diabetic coma even recovered. The extract contained the hormone insulin.

Diabetes

There are two types of treatment for diabetes:

• Careful monitoring of food intake, with particular care taken over carbohydrates - which are digested into glucose.
• Injecting insulin into the blood before meals. The extra insulin causes glucose to be taken up by the liver and other tissues. Cells get the glucose they need for respiration, and the blood glucose concentration stays normal.