EXPLORATION
We have obtained from the pancreas of animals a mysterious something [insulin] which when injected into totally diabetic dogs completely removes all the cardinal symptoms of the disease...If the substance works on the human, it will be a great boon to Medicine.
-James Collip, 1922
Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and James Collip explored a cure or treatment for diabetes. Many people had already done research in this field, but they had been unable to produce a usable extract. The "extract" was ground pancreas mixed with chemicals.
|
The Discovery of Insulin
"In the fall of 1920, Banting was asked to give a lecture on the pancreas and metabolism. Openly admitting his lack of knowledge on the subject, Banting took out all the books he could find on the subject and read articles in surgical journals to adequately prepare himself. It was one such article which inspired him. At 2:00 A.M. on the morning of 31 October 1920, after “the lecture and article had been chasing each other through [his] mind for some time,” Banting woke up and wrote down the 25 word hypothesis that would permanently cement him in the minds of people everywhere as the man who discovered insulin. " [Banting House NHSC]
Banting theorized that if he tied shut the pancreatic ducts of dogs, the cells that produced the digestive juices would degenerate, leaving only healthy islet cells that would hopefully contain something that could be used to treat diabetes.
In November 1920, Banting approached J. J. Macleod, a professor of physiology at the University of Toronto, Canada, and an expert on carbohydrate metabolism. He requested dogs, an assistant, and facilities to perform research. After some consideration, Macleod consented; "negative results would be of great physiological value." [J. J. Macleod] Macleod, very familiar with previous research, doubted that Banting, a young, inexperienced surgeon, would succeed where experts on diabetes had failed.
Banting and his assistant, Charles Best, a young biochemistry student, started work on May 17, 1921. Their research followed a general pattern: grind up a canine pancreas, prepare an extract with it, and then inject it into a dog that had diabetes. They found that this extract revived dogs that were in a coma, lowered blood glucose, and relieved glycosuria (excessive sugar in the urine).
One of Banting and Best's biggest problems was getting enough pancreases to let the research move quickly. At first they used canine pancreases that had been shriveled, but they later realized that whole beef pancreases worked just as well, if not better because they could get a constant supply of them from the local abattoir.
Banting and Best had to figure out the best way to prepare the extract. They explored what happened when the extract was treated or mixed with different things.
They explored which methods of administration rendered the extract most potent. Extract given rectally or orally had no effect; subcutaneous and intravenous injections were extremely effective. James Collip, who joined the team in December 1921, explored which methods produced the purest extract. |
Diabetus [sic] It had been my habit for years to keep a book with a black cover into which I could put my research ideas. |