Diabetes – The history of research and treatment

Abstract

Introduction: The history of diabetes is a fascinating journey – from the times before the current era to the modern day. This history is rich in a lot of discoveries, advancements in science and technology, renowned scientists, doc-tors and their achievements as well as challenges. Aim: To present the history of research on diabetes and its treatment. Material and methods: A review of literature concerning the history of research on diabetes and methods of its treatment. Results and discussion: First descriptions of diabetes, today a well-known disease, date back to ancient Egypt; its mysteries were discovered by Hippocrates, Aretaeus of Cappadocia and an Arabic doctor Avicenna. The term ‘diabetes mel-litus’ was first used in 1797 and the greatest breakthrough in research on diabetes took place in 1922, when insulin was discovered. This revolutionised the treat-ment, yet led to the development of a number of chronic vascular complications. Conclusions: At present, diabetes – as a non-communicable disease – is per-ceived by the World Health Organisation as an epidemics, and only getting to know its history can mean having complete knowledge about the disease.