Discovery

Diabetes is caused by a lack of a protein hormone secreted by the Islets of Langerhans (an area of the pancreas that contains endocrine, or hormone-producing cells). This had been discovered earlier by the scientist Schafer, who had named the protein ‘insulin’. Beforehand, many attempts had been made at extracting insulin, but it was always destroyed by the pancreas’ enzymes before it could be used. Banting hoped to successfully extract this protein and use it to treat diabetes.

    He was first inspired by an article by Moses Baron, which concerned the pancreatic duct. According to Baron, when the pancreatic duct was closed by ligatures, the Islets of Langerhans remained intact, and the cells that secreted trypsin degenerated. As trypsin is an enzyme that destroys insulin, Banting thought that, though ligation of the pancreatic duct, the destruction of insulin could be avoided; after the trypsin-secreting cells had degenerated, the insulin could be safely extracted from the intact Islet of Langerhans. It could then be used to treat patients with diabetes.

    After many failed attempts, the experiment proved successful. An efficient, safe and effective treatment for diabetes was developed and Banting soon rose to great fame and acclaim.