The Discovery of Insulin


Book Description

The discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921-22 was one of the most dramatic events in the history of the treatment of disease. Insulin was a wonder-drug with ability to bring patients back from the very brink of death, and it was no surprise that in 1923 the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to its discoverers, the Canadian research team of Banting, Best, Collip, and Macleod. In this engaging and award-winning account, historian Michael Bliss recounts the fascinating story behind the discovery of insulin – a story as much filled with fiery confrontation and intense competition as medical dedication and scientific genius. Originally published in 1982 and updated in 1996, The Discovery of Insulin has won the City of Toronto Book Award, the Jason Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, and the William H. Welch Medal of the American Association for the History of Medicine.




The University of Toronto


Book Description

Anyone who attended the University or who is interested in the growth of Canada's intellectual heritage will enjoy this compelling and magisterial history.




The Journal of Metabolic Research


Book Description

Vol. 2, no. 5/6 contains the first detailed reports of the clinical use of insulin. cf. Pref., p. [545].




Breakthrough


Book Description

An “inspirational” account of how a young girl plight’s “launched a boon for diabetics the world over . . . A remarkable story . . . worthy reading” (Booklist). It is 1919 and Elizabeth Hughes, the eleven-year-old daughter of America’s most-distinguished jurist and politician, Charles Evans HugheAs, has been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. It is essentially a death sentence. The only accepted form of treatment—starvation—whittles her down to forty-five pounds of skin and bones. Miles away, Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best manage to identify and purify insulin from animal pancreases—a miracle soon marred by scientific jealousy, intense business competition and fistfights. In a race against time and a ravaging disease, Elizabeth becomes one of the first diabetics to receive insulin injections—all while its discoverers and a little known pharmaceutical company struggle to make it available to the rest of the world. Relive the heartwarming true story of the discovery of insulin as it’s never been told before. Written with authentic detail and suspense, and featuring walk-ons by William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eli Lilly himself, among many others. “[A] fascinating tale of Nobel Prize–winning research. . . . This book is an important read for anyone with diabetes. It is an enjoyable read for those who love mystery and human drama.” —Kenneth T. Jackson, Barzun Professor of History, Columbia University




Partnership for Excellence


Book Description

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine is North America’s largest medical school and a major health consortium, boasting nine affiliated teaching hospitals and a network of research institutes. It is where insulin was pioneered, stem cells were first discovered, and famous physicians from Vincent Lam to Sheela Basrur began their careers. But despite all its major accomplishments, the faculty’s impressive history has never before been comprehensively documented. In Partnership for Excellence, senior medical historian and award-winning author Edward Shorter details the Faculty of Medicine’s history from its inception as a small provincial school to its present day status as an international powerhouse. Deeply researched through front-line interviews and primary sources, it ties the story of the faculty and its teaching hospitals to the general history of medicine over this period. Shorter emphasizes the enormous concentration of intellectual energy in the faculty that has allowed it to become the dominant force in Canadian medicine, home to a legion of medical pioneers and achievements.




J.B. Collip and the Development of Medical Research in Canada


Book Description

The intriguing life of J.B. Collip, whose restless drive fuelled his pioneering studies in endocrinology and sustained a successful research enterprise through the first half of the twentieth century.




Banting


Book Description

Frederick Banting was thirty-one when he received the Nobel Prize for his part in the discovery of insulin. He was catapulted to instant fame, for which he was neither personally nor professionally prepared. Set up as head of his own research institute by a grateful government, he struggled fruitlessly to duplicate his first triumph. His marriage to a beautiful socialite ended in a scandal that rocked Toronto, and he returned to work and painting to dull his frustration. He died in a mysterious plane crash; a new preface to this edition discusses recent findings about the crash. Michaeal Bliss's highly acclaimed biography explores the life of a scientist who during his lifetime was the most famous of all Canadians, but who in his private life stands revealed as a passionate, troubled man, in many ways the victim of his own fame.




Fred and Marjorie


Book Description

A graphic novel that tells the true story of the life-saving discovery of insulin







Unveiling Diabetes - Historical Milestones in Diabetology


Book Description

A history of diabetology told by renowned contributors, many have themselves already become a part of diabetes history. A must-have for every diabetologist! Diabetologists, diabetes educators, and many interested readers will appreciate this book. What is more, countless celebrations are planned for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin: this book provides numerous illustrations, accounts of personal experiences, and critical remarks on the history of diabetology – in addition to the history of insulin. It spans an arc from antiquity to the work of Claude Bernard, Paul Langerhans, Josef von Mering, Apollinaire Bouchardat, Oskar Minkowski, E.P. Joslin, and F.M. Allen. The history of insulin is presented from the perspective of diabetologists from Scotland, Spain, Germany, and Poland. The history of oral antidiabetics is told by Harald Lebovitz, and the chapter about glitazones by Edwin Gale reads like a spy novel! Pierre Lefèbvre describes the work of the diabetologist Jean Pirart and the history of glucagon. Sir George Alberti has provided a chapter about the therapy of ketoacidosis, to which he himself made groundbreaking contributions. Nephropathy is presented by Hans-Henrik Parving, and Eva Kohner, Ronald Klein and Barbara E.K. Klein have contributed a chapter on retinopathy. Other contemporary topics such diabetes in pregnancy, diabetes technology, psychosocial aspects of diabetes, and the history of the EASD and ADA are also included in this book.