Frederick G Banting (1891-1941): A Pioneer in Diabetes Treatment

Overview

Journal Cureus

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2024 Dec 18

PMID 39691108

Authors

Yash Sharma

Ajith Kannan

James M Lee

Frederick Coffman

Rahul Mittal

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The discovery of insulin by Frederick G Banting and his colleagues in 1921 marked a pivotal moment in medical history. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1891, Banting's childhood was impacted by the death of his closest friend, Jane, who died of diabetes mellitus at a young age. This personal tragedy profoundly influenced him to choose a career in medicine and fueled his determination to find a cure for diabetes. This journey led to the discovery of Insulin with the help of Charles H Best and John JR Macleod, resulting in a Nobel Prize for this work. Their discoveries set the stage for advancements in clinical medicine and biotechnology, including developing recombinant insulin over 50 years later.

References

Fralick M, Zinman B . The discovery of insulin in Toronto: beginning a 100 year journey of research and clinical achievement. Diabetologia. 2021; 64(5):947-953. DOI: 10.1007/s00125-020-05371-6. View

Laios K, Karamanou M, Saridaki Z, Androutsos G . Aretaeus of Cappadocia and the first description of diabetes. Hormones (Athens). 2012; 11(1):109-13. DOI: 10.1007/BF03401545. View

Quianzon C, Cheikh I . History of insulin. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2013; 2(2). PMC: 3714061. DOI: 10.3402/jchimp.v2i2.18701. View

Lewis G, Brubaker P . The discovery of insulin revisited: lessons for the modern era. J Clin Invest. 2021; 131(1). PMC: 7773348. DOI: 10.1172/JCI142239. View

Buse J, Davies M, Frier B, Philis-Tsimikas A . 100 years on: the impact of the discovery of insulin on clinical outcomes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021; 9(1). PMC: 8370559. DOI: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002373. View

Gerstein H, Rutty C . Insulin Therapy: The Discovery That Shaped a Century. Can J Diabetes. 2021; 45(8):798-803. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2021.03.002. View

Rostene W, De Meyts P . Insulin: A 100-Year-Old Discovery With a Fascinating History. Endocr Rev. 2021; 42(5):503-527. DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnab020. View

Lakhtakia R . The history of diabetes mellitus. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2013; 13(3):368-70. PMC: 3749019. DOI: 10.12816/0003257. View

Mazur A . Why were "starvation diets" promoted for diabetes in the pre-insulin period?. Nutr J. 2011; 10:23. PMC: 3062586. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-10-23. View

10.

Riggs A . Making, Cloning, and the Expression of Human Insulin Genes in Bacteria: The Path to Humulin. Endocr Rev. 2020; 42(3):374-380. PMC: 8152450. DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnaa029. View

11.

Karamanou M, Protogerou A, Tsoucalas G, Androutsos G, Poulakou-Rebelakou E . Milestones in the history of diabetes mellitus: The main contributors. World J Diabetes. 2016; 7(1):1-7. PMC: 4707300. DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v7.i1.1. View

12.

STOCKS P . Diabetes mortality in 1861-1942 and some of the factors affecting it. J Hyg (Lond). 2010; 43(4):242-7. PMC: 2234684. DOI: 10.1017/s0022172400012912. View

13.

Sims E, Carr A, Oram R, DiMeglio L, Evans-Molina C . 100 years of insulin: celebrating the past, present and future of diabetes therapy. Nat Med. 2021; 27(7):1154-1164. PMC: 8802620. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01418-2. View

14.

Falcetta P, Aragona M, Bertolotto A, Bianchi C, Campi F, Garofolo M . Insulin discovery: A pivotal point in medical history. Metabolism. 2021; 127:154941. DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2021.154941. View

15.

Tan S, Merchant J . Frederick Banting (1891-1941): Discoverer of insulin. Singapore Med J. 2017; 58(1):2-3. PMC: 5331123. DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2017002. View

16.

Karamanou M, Koutsilieris M, Laios K, Marineli F, Androutsos G . Apollinaire Bouchardat (1806-1886): founder of modern Diabetology. Hormones (Athens). 2014; 13(2):296-300. DOI: 10.1007/BF03401345. View

17.

Fleifel M, Fleifel B, El Alam A . Diabetes Mellitus across the Arabo-Islamic World: A Revolution. Int J Endocrinol. 2023; 2023:5541808. PMC: 10656201. DOI: 10.1155/2023/5541808. View

18.

Vecchio I, Tornali C, Bragazzi N, Martini M . The Discovery of Insulin: An Important Milestone in the History of Medicine. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018; 9:613. PMC: 6205949. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00613. View