Whose work first showed how insulin could be used to treat diabetes?
Quick Answer
Frederick Banting and Charles Best helped isolate insulin in 1921, and the first patient was treated in 1922. Their work turned type 1 diabetes from a fatal disease into a manageable condition.
The Full Story
Frederick Banting, working with Charles Best in the laboratory of John Macleod, was central to the discovery of insulin’s medical use. In January 1922, Leonard Thompson became the first patient successfully treated with insulin. This breakthrough transformed diabetes care, especially for people with type 1 diabetes who previously had little chance of survival. Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize, with Banting sharing his award money with Best.
Key Facts
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"The discovery that turned diabetes from a death sentence into a treatable disease"
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