Andrew Gordon Cudworth (16 March 1939 – 11 October 1982) was an English

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

er who specialised in

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. He discovered the genetic basis of childhood diabetes and popularised the classification of diabetes into type 1 and type 2.

Biography

Andrew Cudworth was born in 1939 and graduated from the

University of Liverpool School of Medicine The University of Liverpool School of Medicine is a medical school located in Liverpool, United Kingdom and a part of the University of Liverpool. It is one of the largest medical schools in the UK, and in 1903 became one of the first to be in ...

in 1963. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a medical officer after his graduation, serving for five years and earning the rank of major. He commenced physician training in Liverpool in 1971. He published his first paper, about

, in 1972; his second paper, published in 1972, was a case report on a patient with

. His scientific interest in diabetes and immunology led him to discover soon afterwards that the more severe form of diabetes, which necessitated

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

and usually occurred in children, was linked to a specific genetic marker, and could be detected on a blood test. Recognising the difference between juvenile-onset, insulin-dependent diabetes and mature-onset, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, Cudworth began using the terminology of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in 1976. The classification of diabetes into type 1 and type 2 was first used by Philip Hugh-Jones in a 1955 paper, but the terminology was revived and popularised by Cudworth. This remains the common terminology to differentiate the two forms of diabetes mellitus. Previously, the classification of diabetes was based on the age of onset – either juvenile or mature – whereas Cudworth's classification system was based on genetics. In 1977, Cudworth was appointed a consultant physician at St Bartholomew's and

Hackney Hospital Homerton University Hospital is a teaching hospital in Homerton in the London Borough of Hackney. It is managed by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Homerton Fever Hospital, which op ...

s in London, where he also lectured at

St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College , mottoeng = Temper the bitter things in life with a smile , parent = Queen Mary University of London , president = Lord Mayor of London , head_label = Warden , head = Mark Caulfield , students = 3,410 , undergrad = 2,23 ...

. He established the diabetic service at Hackney Hospital and collaborated with David J. Galton in the diabetic clinic at Barts. He became editor-in-chief of the international journal ''

Diabetologia ''Diabetologia'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering diabetology and is the official journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. It is published by Springer Science+Business Media and the editor-in-chief is Hindr ...

'' in 1980. He died in 1982 from a

glioma A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain or the spine. Gliomas comprise about 30 percent of all brain tumors and central nervous system tumours, and 80 percent of all malignant brain tumours. Signs and symptoms ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cudworth, Andrew 1939 births 1982 deaths Medical doctors from Liverpool British diabetologists English medical researchers Academics of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Alumni of the University of Liverpool