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Leonard Thompson (17 July 1908 – 20 April 1935) is the first person to have received an injection of
Leonard Thompson (17 July 1908 – 20 April 1935) is the first person to have received an injection of 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 ...
as a treatment for Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...
.
Biography
Thompson was first treated at SickKids hospital before being transferred to the care of physiciansAndrew Almon Fletcher
Andrew Almon Fletcher (8 March 1889, Kingston, Ontario – 30 November 1964, Toronto) was a Canadian physician and pioneering diabetologist, known as one of the five co-authors of the famous 1922 paper ''Pancreatic Extracts in the Treatment of Diab ...
, Duncan Archibald Graham, and Walter Ruggles Campbell. Thompson received his first injection in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, on 11 January 1922, at 13 years of age. The first injection had an apparent impurity which was the likely cause for the allergic reaction
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...
he displayed. After a refined process was developed by James Collip
James Bertram Collip (November 20, 1892 – June 19, 1965) was a Canadian biochemist who was part of the Toronto group which isolated insulin. He served as the Chair of the Department of Biochemistry at McGill University from 1928–1941 an ...
to improve the canine pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
extract, the second dosage was successfully delivered to the young patient 12 days after the first.
Thompson showed signs of improved health and went on to live 13 more years taking doses of insulin, before dying of pneumonia at age 26.
Until insulin was made clinically available, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence, more or less quickly (usually within months, and frequently within weeks or days).
See also
*Gladys Boyd
Gladys Lillian Boyd (December 26, 1893 – October 24, 1970) was a Canadian paediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She was a pioneer in the treatment of juvenile diabetes. A collaborator of Sir Frederick Banting, she was o ...
, paediatrician, pioneer in the treatment of juvenile diabetes.
* Charles Best, co-discoverer of insulin.
* Elizabeth Hughes Gossett
Elizabeth Evans Hughes Gossett (August 19, 1907 April 21, 1981), the daughter of U.S. statesman Charles Evans Hughes, was the first American, and one of the first people in the world, treated with insulin for type 1 diabetes. She received over 42 ...
, a notable early recipient of insulin.
* Frederick Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential.
In 1923, Banting and J ...
, co-discoverer of insulin.
* Islets of Langerhans
The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of ...
* Pancreas
The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
* James D. Havens
James Dexter Havens (1900–1960) was a printmaker and painter in Rochester, New York, who is considered part of the color woodblock printing, woodblock revival in America.Watrous, James: "The American Color Woodcuts: Bounty from the Block, 1890s-1 ...
, first American to receive insulin from Toronto.
References
External links
* 1908 births 1935 deaths People with type 1 diabetes Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario {{canada-med-bio-stub