The History of Insulin’s Discovery and Its Use in Diabetes Management

Diagnostic and therapeutic innovations and achievements throughout the history of medical sciences have led to a reduction in the number of diseases and an increase in the life expectancy of humans, thus improving the quality of life. One of the most important achievements in the history of medicine is related to the discovery of insulin in 1921 (two years after WW1), which was the result of the efforts of a Canadian research team based in Toronto. This research was conducted by a surgeon and a physiologist biochemist, and it won them the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923. During the hundred years after this discovery, research on insulin has been done to reduce the manifestations of diabetes by other famous people in different time periods. The discovery of insulin and development of new drugs based on it, which like many other important discoveries in applied and therapeutic fields were mainly carried out by basic science scientist, led to the emergence of new insights and scientific understanding of diabetes and also provided the basis for the development of new approaches to monitor this disease. Since the discovery of insulin, the efforts of scientists have improved the quality of life and saved the lives of millions of people around the world over the past hundred years.