The controversial discovery of insulin

This is the earliest vial of insulin that reached the marked in 1922. Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, a diagnosis with diabetes was usually a death sentenceHall KT. Introduction—Taming the Tiger. Insulin - The Crooked Timber [Internet]. 2022 Mar 24 [cited 2024 Nov 7];1–3. Available from link. Patients with diabetes could undergo treatments, like following strict diet regimens, but this would typically only buy them a few extra years. Already in the 18th century, people claimed to sell cures for diabetes (See figure 2), but it wasn’t until January 11th in 1922 that 14-year-old Leonard Thompas became the first person to receive an insulin injection that really treated diabetes100 Years of Insulin | FDA [Internet]. [cited 2024 Nov 7]. Available from link.

In 1889 German researchers had discovered that when they removed the pancreas gland from dogs, the animals suffered symptoms of diabetes and soon passed. The idea thereupon developed among scientists that the pancreas produces a substance which diabetes patients perhaps lackedHall KT. The Pissing Evil. Insulin - The Crooked Timber [Internet]. 2022 Mar 24 [cited 2024 Nov 7];4–15. Available from link.

On July 27th in 1921, Canadian surgeon Frederick Banting and his assistant Charles Best managed to extract this substance, insulin, from the pancreases of dogs. With this substance, they injected the young patient just half a year later. This first injection’s effects were disappointing, but the injection of a second dosage made by biochemist James Bertram Collip two weeks later proved successful and improved the condition of the teenager immenselyHall KT. Thick Brown Muck. Insulin - The Crooked Timber [Internet]. 2022 Mar 24 [cited 2024 Nov 7];16–51. Available from link. A life-saving treatment for the once fatal disease was finally in sight.

Animal testing and the removal of insulin from their pancreases nowadays is seen as controversial. Today animal testing is only allowed when the benefit and necessity of the research outweigh the suffering of animals. Only animals specifically bred for testing are allowed to be a part of the researchEU regulations on animal research | EARA [Internet]. [cited 2024 Nov 7]. Available fromeara.eu. This was of course not the case for the stray dogs used by Banting and Best. The medical community held different standards at the time and Banting and Best’s work was even applauded and granted the Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology in 1923. To Banting’s frustration he had to share the prize with lab-owner J.J.R. Macleod. He, nevertheless, accepted itBrink SJ. Insulin Past, Present, and Future: 100 Years from Leonard Thompson. Diabetology [Internet]. 2022 Mar 1 [cited 2024 Nov 7];3(1):117–58. Available from mdpi.com. How would this celebrated treatment be distributed and how did it work?