DIABETES.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 July 1923, Page 1

DIABETES.

TliE INSULIN TREATMENT. WELLINGTON, July 1(> A medical man Frosh from tho school:; in {.lie Motherland has supplied l! o following information regarding ill-* nev. euro for diabetes, “insulin, 1 ' which derives its name from the source of the .substance, namely, the islet cells ot the sweel bread.

In diabetes, lie says, the sugar which normally passes into the blond is not able to be used bv the tissues, and so is excreted in the urine apparently before the sugar can be used as it should he. Normally a change must occur in it : mo!-culo, and ii would appear that i lie substance responsible for effecting this change comes from the pancreas, nr sweet bread. It Ims long been known that diabetes can be produced expo riiiieiu ally by extirpation of the pancreas, ami that the condition can lie relieved or cured by subsequently grafting into the animal experimented upon. Ii the duel of the sweet bread Is liveiurcd. llie dige-tive juice of the viand cannot enter the intestine, and gradually the parts of the gland tliai form this juice wither away. Diabetes

is nut produced, however, and certain cells in the tnnereas remain as active as ever. These are known as Hie isb-ts of Luiigorhaus. by whom they ..•me described, and it is believed that they Form the internal secretion (.internal since it enters the blood stream directly) which brings about the change in the sugar molecule necessary for I he destruction of the latter by the tissue cells to produce energy.

For many years attempts have been inside to isolate the internal secretion, and it was pointed out by Strickland (Jnodal!, of I lie .Middlesex Hosprlal, that since the islets of l.singerhans occurred in greatest numbers in Ihe tail of the sweetbread, probably from ibis part of (lie organ the long-sought-after secretion would be oblair.e 1. Tinobservation has proved correct. In 192(1 -“insulin" was isolated bv worker.. iii one of the Canadian universities. h is obtained in greatest quantity irian the tail ol the gland. Chicily slieep's glands have been used, hut owing to tlie great demand for the pmiluri, il lias been shown re-.-ciiily tliai tbo-e of lish may be used. Diabetics in Canadian, American, and English hospitals have been submitted to treatment which consists of hypodermic inj. ct ion-., u.-uallv into a vein, bill they may be* given into muscular tissue only. \ chrmi*-i at Guy's Hospital lias greatly expedited the production ol “insulin” bv an alteration in the it hnique for il - separation. In Huy's, the Middlesex, and mo-t of the oilier Loudon hospitals, "iiisiiiin'' he.s heen siu-et ssfully employed T!:e injections have to be repeated at short intervals, dependent upon the type and severit y of Hie ca*e, but as a result the sugar output in the urine is diminished or siopped. Although tie whole quest ion is in an early .stage, the outlook is most hopeful. Il would appear that as long as the injections are carried nut the patient is free from diabetes, and the evil effects dependent upon the non-usage of sugar by Untissues are warded off. Sufferers from diabetes might well consult the “insulin" specialist in the countries referred to, as once the dosage and legitnen necessary in each ease has heen established, Ihe local pnictiouer, upon advice from the specialist consul ted, is able to administer the necessary injections. The simplicity of the treatment is outstanding. There are some as sceptical as the Syrian letter, who would murmur, "Are not Altana and I’liarpnr. livers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel;-" N'aamaii's servants prevailed upon him. however. .Simple adipping seven times in the Jordan appeared, we are told tliai "Ids llosh came again like unto the lledi of a lit LIo child, and he was clean." The "insulin" I real incut of diabetes is almost as miraculous. an | essentially as simple and logical. The result is all that can l-e desired, and there is a great hope for the diabetic in the flltlll'C.