CURE FOR DIABETES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17080, 29 June 1923, Page 8

CURE FOR DIABETES.

i, * i ; THE INSULIN TREATMENT. ■ ; Complete success, the “ Westminster ' j Gazette” learns, is at last attending l ! tho insulin treatment of diabetic pati- } onts, and. the discovery is regarded in _ j medical circles as one of the greatest ! scientific achievements of the a^e. , | A remarkable cure lias just been i effected at St Thomas’s Hospital, in the ’ | case of a man who contracted the dis- ! case, hitherto considered fatal, as a | result of shock after being torpedoed. | Ho sank into a state of coma, liis body wasted away almost to skeleton, and his life was despaired of. But soon after Christmas he was admitted to the hospital, treated with insulin, and now he cycles up to London every day from his home in Surrey. j The manufacture of insulin, winch is j a substance extracted from the pan- i cieas of the ox, sheep or pig, is a matt ter of extreme difficulty. But the Medical Research Council now announces that all difficulties in its j production on a commercial scale have ; been overcome. J ; One factor in. easing the situation in 21 j England was the removal of the em- * i bargo on Canadian cattle, before which [ | the supply of fresh, raw pancreas had 1 i been insufficient. 5 j The Medical Research Council aii- " : nounoes that Briti sh-matlo insulin is J j now authoritatively supplied by the | British Drug Houses, Ltd., in conjunc- ) j tion with Messrs Allen and Hanbury; l j and Messrs Burroughes, Wellcome aud 7 Co. It is hoped that these sources of I supply will be augmented at an early 1 j date by three other firms who are ' j under agreements with tho Council. A 5 j maximum selling price has been fixed. i Since the supply of insulin is still ’ ! restricted, however, the Council re- * I quires that hospitals and practitioners ; shall undertake to apply it only to scri- “ There should be no luxury use of insulin, and it will not bo given to I those whose symptoms can be controlled ! by dieting,” says the Council, j The new substance is also being •; manufactured at some of the big Lon- ; don hospitals and at Sheffield and Edin- { burgh. I lb is igven by hypodermic syringe, t but there is a strong hope that appli- ! cation by the mouth will soon bo pos- ; sible, thus obviating a certain amount ! of unpleasantness. j j The -pancreas from which insulin is j ; obtained is an intestinal gland, sccrett ing a juice which is a powerful aid to ! digestion. Tho credit of its discovery oblongs i iu tho first place to Toronto University. I The medical authority of one of the j chief London hospitals said to tbe “ Westminster Gazette ” that insulin was nothing less than marvellous. It* might be regarded as a certain cure. t and it was now being regularly and ! successfully administered at most of the j big hospitals.