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Leonard Thompson (17 July 1908 – 20 April 1935) was the first person to have received an injection of
Leonard Thompson (17 July 1908 – 20 April 1935) was 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 insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...
as a treatment for type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...
.
Biography
Leonard Thompson was born on Pickering Street near the beaches of Toronto on 17 July 1908, to parents Harold and Florence Thompson. He was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and was first treated at the Hospital for Sick Children before being transferred to the care of physicians Andrew Almon Fletcher, Duncan Archibald Graham, and Walter Ruggles Campbell. Thompson received his first injection inToronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, on January 11th, 1922, at 13 years of age. Thompson's first dose had an apparent impurity which caused an allergic reaction. A refined process was quickly developed to improve the cow pancreas from which the insulin was derived. His second dosage was successfully injected 12 days later on January 23.
Thompson showed signs of improved health and went on to live 13 more years taking doses of insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...
, before dying of pneumonia at age 26.
Until insulin was made clinically available, a diagnosis of diabetes was a death sentence, more or less quickly (usually within months, and frequently within weeks or days).
See also
* Gladys Boyd, paediatrician, pioneer in the treatment of juvenile diabetes. * Charles Best, co-discoverer of insulin. * Elizabeth Hughes Gossett, a notable early recipient of insulin. *Frederick Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian pharmacologist, orthopedist, and field surgeon. For his co-discovery of insulin and its therapeutic potential, Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physi ...
, 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% o ...
* Pancreas
The pancreas (plural pancreases, or pancreata) is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the Digestion, digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a ...
* James D. Havens, first American to receive insulin from Toronto.
References
* https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0967772020974355?journalCode=jmbaExternal links
* 1908 births 1935 deaths People with type 1 diabetes Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario {{canada-med-bio-stub