One hundred years after the discovery of insulin by Canadian scientists, about half of the 100 million people who need this hormone to treat diabetes do not have access to the product.
The University of Toronto organized a symposium on insulin, as part of the celebration of the discovery of the hormone in 1921 by Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best, work for which the first received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
Endocrinologist at the University of Toronto School of Medicine, Calvin Ke, from the same institution where Banting and Best synthesized the hormone nearly 100 years ago, pointed out, in statements to the EFE agency, that this “was one of the most monumental discoveries in medicine because it saved the lives of millions of people with ‘type 1’ diabetes and some with ‘type 2’.
“Without insulin, people with ‘type 1’ diabetes develop life-threatening medical complications. It is very important that people have access to insulin. The centenary is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that people with diabetes currently face, ”he added.
It is estimated that 463 million people had diabetes in the past year, 80% of which in developing countries. Of that number, about 100 million need insulin treatment, but only about 50% of them have access to the drug.
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