100 years of insulin: How immunotherapy could be future of diabetes treatment
This year is the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. Before this discovery, diabetes was a fatal condition with a short lifespan for those with the condition. But in 1921, three scientists from the University of Toronto, Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod, discovered how to extract insulin and show that it can reduce blood sugar levels. In January 1922, the first person with type 1 diabetes was treated.
In the past 100 years, the discovery of insulin has saved countless lives and made diabetes a condition which people can live and thrive with. However, there are still few alternative treatments for the condition.
Professor Timothy Tree, from the School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, is working on pioneering breakthroughs that has the potential to prevent and even cure the condition.
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