Diabetes – the crucial discovery of insulin…

[11 January 2012 - 17h10]

Until the discover of insulin, diabetes was a fatal condition. But in 1921, two Canadian researchers – Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Best of the University of Toronto – discovered insulin. This was a key discovery that would save the lives of many, many diabetics.

In 1922, the first insulin preparations extracted from the pancreas of cattle and pigs were developed. Considered as a miracle medicine at the time, insulin is still vital today for people who suffer from type 1 diabetes. It is also an essential treatment for many type 2 diabetics, as the French Diabetes Association explains. Some significant advances have been made, in particular in providing diabetics with forms of treatment that are less restricting, simpler to administer and which have fewer side effects.

Today, thanks to these treatments, fewer diabetics suffer from hypoglycaemia and are therefore able to enjoy a better quality of life.

Women who suffer from diabetes of pregnancy also benefit from insulin therapy. This form of diabetes appears during pregnancy and disappears after giving birth. Diabetes of pregnancy brings with it the problem of the unborn baby becoming excessively heavy, which can then require the mother to have a caesarean section. With diabetes of pregnancy, the mother may be obese or overweight and this is an additional risk factor, particularly because of the increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) caused by poor placental function. Newborn babies may also suffer from hypoglycaemia during the first days of life and this requires medical supervision in the maternity unit.

In fact, as our expert explains, diabetes of pregnancy is an early form of type 2 diabetes. The risk of the mother later developing type 2 diabetes increases seven-fold if she suffers from diabetes of pregnancy. Women who suffer from this condition are also at greater risk of cardiovascular disease. So, it is essential that they are made aware how important it is to pay careful attention to their health throughout their lives and not just during pregnancy.

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