Insulin and Insulin Treatment

Abstract

Insulin is a potent anabolic hormone, and its
absence induces a profound catabolic state that
affects fat, carbohydrates, and protein stores.
Absolute insulin deficiency, such as that
characterized by type 1 diabetes (T1DM), results
in death if left untreated. The study of patients
with diabetes in the pre-insulin era teaches us the
surprisingly long period that can survive without
insulin. Leonard Thompson was the first patient
to have an effective insulin treatment. He was 12
years old when he was diagnosed with diabetes in
1919 and had survived for over 2 years at 11 am on
January 22, 1922; he received his first injection of
insulin. This indicated that it was miserable
without insulin. In addition to weight loss,
constant tiredness, thirst, urination, and frequent
infections, their waste was the e certain
knowledge that a death sentence had been passed
and that death would be an agonizing and slow
process. The most effective therapy available at
that time appeared to be a severe nutritional
restriction, perhaps most popularly expounded by
Allen [1] from the Rockefeller Institute in New
York. However, this was a difficult regimen that
did not appear to significantly prolong life
expectancy when death occurred. It is not clear
whether this was the result of diabetes or
starvation