| History Of Diabetes |
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Diabetes Mellitus is a medical condition distinguished by chaotic metabolism and abnormally high level of blood sugar. It comes from the Greek words, siphon meaning ‘diabetes’ and mellitus meaning ‘sweet’. It is a disorder affected by the malfunctioning of hormone-producing insulin or pancreas. It is infamous for being considered as one of the world’s silent killers as there is still no known universal treatment for it. There are at least 171 million people across globe, who suffer from this killer disease. This figure is calculated to double in 2030 if people do not change their eating habits most especially when it comes to their sugar intakes.
Diabetes History
The discovery of this disease travels as far back as the prehistoric times. The 1550 BC Egyptian papyrus by physician Hesy-Ra mentions the earliest known record of this disease’s symptom polyuria or frequent urination. Ayur Vedan Hindus also have documentation about insects being attracted to some human urine that tasted sweet.
Susruta, India’s father of medicine, discovered the disease in 1000 B.C.
Aretaeus, a greek physician, gave birth to the term Diabetes . Fellow Greeks such as Celsus and Galen described the condition of the disease.
Improved diagnosis by Paul of Aegina occurred during 230 B.C. He prescribed an antidote drink of pot-herbs, lettuce, rock-fishes, knotgrass juice, elecampane in dark colored wine and decoction of dates and myrtle during the first stage.
Diabetes became less popular in terms of research during the Middle Ages until Avicenna, an Arabian physician gave descriptions and progression of the disease in detail. He recommended emetics (vomit-inducing agent) and sudorifics (perspiration-inducing agent), and avoidance of all diuretic (urine-inducing) food and drugs. He also recommended lukewarm baths and fragrant wine in the latter stages. Up to the 11th century, the symptoms discovered were the abnormal thirst, excessive urination and weight loss.
Uroscopy, the medical practice of examining the urine by tasting, smelling or touching, became the primary means of identifying this disease during this era. Mellitus was added to its name because of the sweet taste of patient’s urine.
First chemical experiments during the early 19th century were tested if the presence of sugar in the urine can be detected and measured. The therapies being proposed during this time proved to be unsuccessful as the cause was still a mystery. Therapy such as consuming excessive quantity of sugar was advised by a Priorry, a French physician. During the Franco-Prussian War, Bouchardat, another French physician, became aware that calorie intake was critical in his patients’ diet as it relieved them of symptoms.
Paul Langerhan, a German medical student, discovered the parts of the pancreas. He revealed in an essay the two sets of cells found in the said organ. The first set produces the normal pancreatic juice while the second set’s function was unknown.
In 1920, Moses Barron linked Langerhan’s cells with the disease. Originating from Barron’s work, Frederick Banting was able to conceive the idea of insulin. With the help of his colleagues, Dr. Banting continued on with his experiments on de-pancreatized dogs for the entire year. Insulin was discovered as the vital hormone. It was named after the cell islands as proposed by Langerhan. Their profound research was recognized in the form of a Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. It was awarded to Dr. Banting and Dr. MacLeod in 1923.
During the entire 20th century, awareness through knowledge and treatment has progressed extensively. Today, technological advancement in this disease’s treatment improved. Patients are permitted to use electronic blood sugar monitors that automatically print readouts every 5 minutes. Beeper-sized insulin pumps strapped to the belt were invented to give insulin injection right beneath the patient’s skin. These are just some of the improved products that show that treatment has gone a long way indeed.
With more studies and experiments, the future looks bright that this disease will be eradicated from the face of the earth. |
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