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Saccharometers Used to Find Glucose Levels in Urine
In the early 19th century, diabetes had been shown to be associated with elevated glucose levels, but there was no known effective treatment. In the early 1800s, saccharometers were used to measure the density of the urine, which physicians could then use to estimate how much glucose was present in the urine, allowing them to predict whether someone had diabetes or not. -
Diet High in Sugar to Treat Diabetes
French physician Priorry suggested that his diabetic patients consume a diet extremely high in sugar as a form of treatment. -
Individualized Diets based on War-Related Food Rationing
French physician Apollinaire Bouchardat noticed that diabetic patients' symptoms improved because of war-related food rationing, so he developed individualized diets as diabetes treatments -
Insulin Discovered and Name
Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer studied the pancreas, which led to him discovering a substance (insulin) that would be produced in the pancreases of people without diabetes. -
"Severe Calorie Restriction" to Treat Diabetes
American physicians Frederick Allen and Elliott Joslin designed a "starvation diet" as a way to treat diabetes. Patients were introduced to extreme fasting and malnutrition (and were encouraged to eat under 500 calories per day) because it was thought to be one of the only treatments for diabetes before insulin treatments were created, especially for what is known today as type 2 diabetes. -
"Severe Calorie Restriction" to Treat Diabetes
American physicians Frederick Allen and Elliott Joslin designed a "starvation diet" as a way to treat diabetes. Patients were introduced to extreme fasting and malnutrition (and were encouraged to eat under 500 calories per day) because it was thought to be one of the only treatments for diabetes before insulin treatments were created, especially for what is known today as type 2 diabetes. -
Insulin Experimentation on Dogs
Frederick Banting and Charles Best extracted insulin from dogs' pancreases and injected that insulin into dogs that had their pancreases removed and found that their blood glucose levels went down. This led to the idea of insulin being used as a form of treatment for people with diabetes, who needed insulin to control their blood glucose levels. -
First Diabetic Person Treated with Insulin
Banting and Best furthered their research with insulin by treating the first human, Leonard Thompson, with insulin. This 14-year-old boy had previously been following the starvation diet to manage his sever diabetes, and insulin supposedly saved his life. -
Beginning of Commercial Insulin Production
Two different companies began producing insulin commercially in 1923, and in the following years, new manufacturers arose to provide more insulin options for patients, such as insulin with a slower or faster acting time. -
NPH Insulin Created
Hans Hogedorn discovered that the effects of injected insulin could be prolonged if protamine was added to the insulin (given the name Neutral Protamine Hogedorn insulin). This insulin can also be added to other formulations to make dosages simpler and easier. -
Urine Glucose Testing Tablets
Previously, in order to test glucose levels in urine, Benedict's solution had to be mixed with urine and heated over boiling water, but with the creation of test strips and tablets, testing for glucose levels in urine became much easier and for available. -
Hyperglycemia Connected to Blood Vessel Disease
Until this point, there were no believed consequences of high blood glucose levels other than if patients "felt good" or not on a day-to-day basis. However, Ernest Millard and Howard Root discovered that patients with poor glucose control were more likely to have severe retinopathy. -
Discovery of Insulin Working "Like a Key"
Rachmiel Levine made the discovery of insulin working "like a key" in the sense that it "opens the door" to lead glucose into the cells. This pathed the way for discoveries and treatments regarding type 2 diabetes. -
Standardized Insulin Syringe Created
The standardized insulin syringe, produced by Becton Dickinson and Company, reduced errors with dosages, minimizing episodes of hyper- and hypoglycemia. -
Palmer Injector
The palmer injector made it easier for diabetic patients to give themselves insulin injections because an insulin syringe would be placed into a gun-shaped handle so that patients didn't have to manually push the needle into themselves. -
Food Exchange Diet Approach
The food exchange diet was a meal planner that divided food into 6 groups, or "exchanges", based on calories, carbs, fat, protein, etc. Meal planning to monitor glucose levels became an important way to manage diabetes. -
First Safe and Effective Oral Medication for Diabetes
Sulfonylureas can be taken to stimulate insulin production in the pancreas. -
Different Types of Diabetes Discovered
Solomon Berson and Rosalyn Yalow discovered that some diabetics still produced insulin and categorized diabetics as "insulin-dependent" (type 1) and "non-insulin-dependent". -
Glucagon Used to Treat Hypoglycemia
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Blood Glucose Test Strips
Testing strips could be used to test blood glucose levels by color code -
First Successful Pancreas Transplant
Although difficult and uncommon, pancreas transplants became a recognized form of diabetic treatment for a select few patients. -
First Glucose Meter in Clinics
Until this point, blood glucose levels had to be tested in a laboratory -
U100 Insulin Introduced
Caused a decrease in the frequency of dosage errors. -
Continuous Glucose Monitoring/Insulin Infusion
significantly advanced research into diabetes -
Portable Insulin Pumps
Portable insulin pumps such as the Mill Hill infuser were made so that people could receive their insulin injections outside of their homes. -
Wearable Insulin Pumps
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Laser Therapy for Retinopathy
Retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes, can be relieved with laser therapy, which burns abnormal blood vessels in the retina. -
A1C Test Developed
became the standard for determining long-term diabetes control; measures glycosylated hemoglobin -
Synthetic Insulin Produced
researchers induced E. coli bacteria to produce insulin identical to human insulin; before this, all insulin used was derive from animal sources -
At-home Glucose Monitoring Machines
These machines replaced the color-coded testing strip system and provided much more accurate readings. -
First Rapid-Acting Human Insulin Analog (Lispro)