Insulin, insulin resistance and the pancreas
Significant research in the late 1800s led to Jean De Meyer searching for a hormone that was called ‘insulin’ in 1909. Then, in 1916, Edward Sharpey-Shafer came up with the term ‘insulin’ as a substance from the pancreas that was responsible for diabetes.5
In the early 1920s, Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod discovered insulin at the University of Toronto, it was purified by James B Collip.5
Shortly after, in 1922, Leonard Thompson became the first ever patient to receive an insulin injection. At the age of 14 he was admitted to hospital close to going into a diabetic coma. Following his initial injection, he continued to use insulin and lived an additional 13 years after that first treatment.1
Sir Harold Percival Himsworth published his research in 1936 that mentioned the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.6 His view was that many people with the condition had insulin resistance instead of insulin deficiency.