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From Thebes to Toronto and the 21st Century: An Incredible Journey

Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Lee J. Sanders, Chief, Podiatry Section (N323), Acute Care/Specialty Services, VA Medical Center, 1700 South Lincoln Avenue, Lebanon, PA 17042

	Introduction

 
Editor’s note: This article is a transcript of the address of the American Diabetes Association President, Health Care and Education, given in June 2001 at the Association’s 61^st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia, Pa.

The story of diabetes mellitus—its discovery, description, and treatment—is a remarkable chronicle covering 3,500 years of medical history. My President’s Address, "From Thebes to Toronto and the 21st Century" will take you on an incredible journey through time, highlighting major milestones in the history of diabetes.

Regrettably, health care providers receive very little instruction in the history of medicine. Most medical and nursing students today have a rather limited, contemporary knowledge of diabetes. The history of advances in diabetes prior to the discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto, in 1921, has been obscured by the passage of time. Historical concepts of the causes and nature of diabetes have either been forgotten or never learned.

It is my belief that knowledge of history affords a better understanding of contemporary issues and clearer vision as we look to the future. It is my pleasure to share this thrilling story with you, and to reveal the origin of some of the discoveries that have brought us to our current understanding of diabetes at the dawn of the 21st century. Looking at this ailment over the ages makes one fact clear: the incidence of diabetes has increased dramatically, from an uncommon ailment during the period of antiquity to a worldwide epidemic expected to affect 300 million people by the year 2025.

The story of diabetes unfolds during the Age of Antiquity, where we begin to see the earliest descriptions of the symptoms of diabetes. Ancient physicians recorded their observations in an attempt to better understand the nature of the ailment, its origin, and treatment. It is . . . [Full Text of this Article]

	Footnotes

 

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