History of diabetes

The number of people who suffer from diabetes appears to grow each decade.  Today 5% of the world’s population has this metabolic disorder that affects the control of blood glucose.  Are there really more people developing diabetes mellitus or are there just more being diagnosed?  The question is difficult to answer. 

Diabetes is actually a lifestyle illness that is often brought on by several factors; genetics, environment and nutrition all play a role in the condition.  But diabetes isn’t a disease of the 20th century.  In fact it was 1552 B.C. when physician Hesy-ra, an Egyptian, first wrote about polyuria as a symptom. 

The history of diabetes dates back to centuries before Christ and continues to play out even to this day.  In the early days of medicine doctors didn’t have sophisticated methods of testing people believed to have diabetes so they employed the help of ‘water tasters’.  Up until the 11th century these tasters would taste the urine of those suspected to have diabetes to discern if the urine had a sweet taste to it.  When blood sugar increases the glucose (sugar) spills out into the urine.  As a result the word ‘mellitus’ (Latin for honey referring to the sweet taste) was added to the diagnosis.

It was the early 19th century in the history of diabetes before scientists were able to develop the first chemical tests to indicate and measure the presence of glucose in the urine.  This was an important break through in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.  Now doctors could more consistently diagnose and monitor this condition that causes long-term effects on the health of the sufferer.

Treatment for diabetes wasn’t focused on diet until the 1870’s when French physician Bouchardat noticed that the glycosuria (glucose in the urine), that was common in his diabetic patients, decreased significantly during food rationing.  The French were forced to ration food during siege by Germany during the Franco-Prussian war.  After noticing the difference in the glycosuria Bouchardat theorized that it was diet that played an important role in the treatment of diabetes.

Following the end of the war French researcher, Claude Bernard, studied the function of the pancreas and liver making important discoveries in the metabolism of glycogen.  At the same time in the history of diabetes Czech researcher, Pavlov, discovered the link between the nervous system and secretion of gastric acid.   The combination of both discoveries helped later researchers to understand the physiology of the digestive system.

History of Diabetes

In 1869 Paul Langerhans, a German medical student, announced the two systems of cells in the pancreas.  But it wasn’t until 1920 that Dr. Banting conceived the possibility of insulin and began his quest to discover the chemical using dogs who were de-pancreatized. 

It was 20 years later that the link between high blood glucose and damage to the kidneys and eyes was discovered and published paving the way for more standardized insulin treatment using a standard insulin syringe.

In 1959 physicians recognized the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.  This recognition also helped to individualize the treatment of the diabetic and lengthen their lifespan by decreasing the risk for complications.

With the advent of laser surgery in 1970 researchers were able to slow the progressive damage to the eye that diabetics so often suffered.  Other researchers began manufacturing glucometers to test blood samples for glucose at home, as well as the insulin pump.

Synthetic insulin was introduced in 1983.  Until that time in the history of diabetes the standard insulin supply was from cows or bovine insulin. 

Today insulin pumps are more popular and covered by insurance companies who are beginning to recognize the cost savings by paying a bit more now for a more expensive machine that delivers insulin in much the same way the body produces it.  In this way insurance costs are decreased as the patient ages as his risk of complications are decreased.

Research is currently being successfully conducted on the transplantation of pancreatic cells, without the use of immune suppressants, which supply the Type 1 diabetic with a natural source of insulin.  The diagnosis, treatment and complications of diabetes has come a long way from when ‘tasters’ were employed to diagnose diabetes through sweet tasting urine!