British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)
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Historical Article
A history of insulin: from discovery to modern alternatives.
Following on from the first article in this series (Vol 12(18): 1091-5), which described the history of diabetes, this article, the second of three literature reviews, explores the early production and development of insulin, from its initial production in a university laboratory to becoming a major pharmaceutical product. Also discussed are the various forms of insulin developed over the last 80 years and their means of delivery to the patient. The future is considered and the development of insulin analogues (substances that mimic the effect of human insulin) is described. The article also looks at the introduction of DAFNE (dose adjustment for normal eating) - an intensive programme of education aimed at teaching individuals the necessary skills to adjust their own insulin injection dosage to reflect their individual eating patterns.
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Historical Article
A history of diabetes: from antiquity to discovering insulin.
This article, the first of a three-part series, gives a historical account of events for diabetes, dating from antiquity and its first recording in the Ebers Papyrus--an Egyptian document circa 1500 BC. This article describes initial thoughts that diabetes was linked to an alimentary complaint, and concludes with the discovery of it being a chronic systemic disease. It highlights the discoveries and also includes details of the failed attempts to locate the cause and identify a solution to the ancient mysterious disease which became known to all as diabetes mellitus. ⋯ The article tells how for many centuries individuals suffered from the debilitating complaint with very little offered in terms of treatment or relief. Eventually the pancreas was identified as the causative organ and, some time later, animal experimentation resulted in the abstraction of the substance insulin. The article concludes with Frederick Banting and John Macleod being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1923 for their revolutionary discovery of insulin.