Stunning facts about diabetes history....

When was diabetes first recognized?

The ancient Egyptians first described diabetes around 1500 BC.  It was described as a condition in which a person urinated excessively and lost weight.

How was the term diabetes mellitus coined?

The urine of diabetics was noted to be copious and sweet.  The Greek physician Aretaeus (80-138 C.E.) noted that the syndrome manifested as polyuria, and used the term, διαβήτης (diabetes), which means “a siphon, a passer through.”

In 1675, the English physician Thomas Willis added “mellitus” to the designation when he noticed that the urine of diabetics had a sweet odor.  Mellitus comes from the Latin root for “honey.”

When was the concentration of glucose in the urine first measured?

Matthew Dobson documented elevated glucose levels in the urine of diabetics in 1776.

What was the first evidence that the pancreas played a role in diabetes?

In 1889, Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski found that removing the pancreas from dogs resulted in fatal diabetes.  This provided the first clue that the pancreas plays a key role in regulating glucose concentrations.

When was it first hypothesized that diabetes is related to a lack of insulin?

In 1910, Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer hypothesized that diabetes was due to the deficiency of a chemical excreted by the pancreas.  He named this chemical “insulin”, from the Latin word insula, meaning island in reference to the pancreatic islet cells of Langerhans.

When was insulin discovered?

In 1921, Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin.  The researchers obtained extract from pancreatic islet cells of healthy dogs and administered it to diabetic dogs.  In doing so, they were able to reverse the diabetes.

When was the concept of insulin resistance proposed?

Fifteen years after the discovery of insulin, in 1936, Harold Himsworth proposed the idea that many patients with diabetes may have insulin resistance rather than insulin deficiency.

How many scientists have received the Nobel Prize for diabetes-related research?

From 1923 to 2012, only ten scientists have received the Nobel Prize for diabetes research.

Over the past 30 years, how has the prevalence of diabetes changed?

The prevalence of diabetes has increased worldwide.  In the U.S. alone, the number of diabetes cases has increased during the time period of 1980 to 2010.  In 1980, there were 5.6 million people in the U.S. with diabetes.  In to 2010, there were 20.9 million people in the U.S. with diabetes.  (This represents 2.5% and 6.9% of the population, respectively.)  At this rate, 1 in 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050.