This picture shows a vial of insulin produced in 1923, two years after insulin was discovered. It shows a 5cc glass bottle. The insulin is from Lab. No. 257-4, dated November 5 1923. The label on the front of the bottle reads: 'Insulin 10 units - 5 c.c. vial. 10 units per c.c. Connaught Laboratories. University of Toronto'. According to the Connaught anti-toxin laboratories filling records for insulin this bottle was filled November 1, 1923.
The insulin in 1923 was very dark, probably because it was taken from pigs and cows, and had not been purified. Later on the Lilly company did purify the insulin and the lives of diabetics in all parts of the world were saved.
That is so cool. Thanks for sharing. The historical aspect of T1 diabetes fascinates me. It's so amazing that in such a short period of time (90 years) T1 diabetes went from being a condition that was 100% fatal to one that is now pretty manageable. A coworker's daughter was recently diagnosed with T1 and she was told that with proper care, her daughter can be expected to live a normal lifespan. Pretty amazing!
It is cool, thanks Richard. Another autoimmune disease (besides Type 1) that I have is Pernicious Anemia. PA has gone from terminal to manageable in my lifetime. I can thank medical science for saving my life in the case of both diseases. I'm glad that they're not killing animals to save my life, but I do wish that they would add C-Peptide back into our insulin.
