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Sunday 12 October 2014

Diabetes

The first known written record of diabetes was recorded on an Ancient Egyptian papyrus in 1552 BC. A doctor named Hesy-Ra noted frequent urination as a symptom.

The word diabetes, which means “passing through” was coined by the Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia in the first century AD to describe patients with great thirst and excessive urination. Aretaeus thought diabetes was caused by snakebite.

The connection between sweet food and diabetes was known in Ancient China. They noted that the excessive amounts of urine diabetics produced attracted ants, bees and flies and devised a test for it by observing whether ants are attracted to a person's urine. The Chinese believed it to be a kidney complaint.

Physicians in the Middle Ages would drink their patients urine to diagnose medical conditions. They were able to accurately diagnose diabetes because the urine tasted sweet.

Thanks to food rationing during the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, a French physician discovered a link between diet and diabetes management.

Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting (1891-1941) proved on July 27, 1921 that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar. Purified insulin was first used to treat diabetes and its acute complications the following January.

This is the University of Toronto laboratory where insulin was discovered

Banting shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. He is still the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Before blood glucose tests were available, doctors would taste the urine of their patients to diagnose diabetes. A sweet taste meant the patient was diabetic.

The American genetic engineering company Genentech developed the first genetically engineered product to enter medical practice. Human insulin made in bacteria was tested and approved for medical use and in 1980 the first diabetic patient was successfully injected with it. About 5% of diabetics were allergic to the animal insulins available before.

World Diabetes Day was launched in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the rapid rise of diabetes around the world. It is held on November 14 each year. marking the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with  J.J.R. Macleod and Charles Best first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

The anti-diabetic medication, metformin, is derived from French lilacs. In medieval times, French lilac was used to treat the symptoms of a condition we now know today as diabetes mellitus.

537 million adults (20-79 years) were living with diabetes in 2021 (1 in 10 of the world\s population). The number of people living with diabetes is expected rise to 784 million by 2045.

Over 4 in 5 (81%) adults with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries.

Diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021 - 1 every 5 seconds.

More than 17% of people have diabetes in Mobile, Alabama, and Charleston, West Virginia—the highest rates in the U.S.

 15% of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are not overweight.

The global economic cost of diabetes in 2014 was estimated to be $612 billion.

In the Mexican state of Chiapas, Coca-Cola can be easier to find than bottled water and this has led to a diabetes epidemic which  increased 30 percent between 2013 and 2016 and is now the second-leading cause of death after heart disease.

On October 7, 2013, Tom Hanks announced during an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman that he was living with Type 2 diabetes. He had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes several years earlier, but had ignored the warning signs. After his diagnosis, Hanks made significant lifestyle changes, including losing weight and adopting a healthier diet. He has spoken openly about his experience with diabetes in the hopes of raising awareness and encouraging others to take care of their health.

Nick Jonas has Type 1 diabetes. He wrote the song “A Little Bit Longer” about his struggles with the disease. Other music stars with the disease include Eric Paslay, Bret Michaels, Este Haim and American Idol alum Crystal Bowersox.

Hours after being adopted from an animal shelter in 2012, 21-pound cat Pudding with saved her  Wisconsin owner's life. While suffering a diabetic seizure, Amy Jung's newly acquired cat pounced his weight on her chest and began swatting her face and biting her nose until she gained consciousness.

Whiskey can be made out of diabetics' urine because of the high sugar content.

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