History of Diabetes

In Ayurveda, as one of the reference of Shiv Purana., Origin of Diabetes is claimed from Kankhal (subtown of Haridwar (Uttarakhand), INDIA, where a yagya (Fire sacrifice) was performed by King Daksha in which all the Devas, Rishis ,Munis were invited except Lord Shiva. All the invities were offered a very rich diet i.e. Havish (made up of mainly with Honey, Sugar & cow Ghee, milk, brihi yav-a variety of rice) & was consumed heavily by the invities But Lord Shiva because of his insult was very annoyed and ordered Veer bhadra to destroy the yagya (holy) .By the destructive acts of Veerbhadra , stampede occurred. To save themselves everybody rushed here & there, by this critical and stressful situation many diseases occurred and Diabetes was one of them .As we see today the main causative factors of the disease are- sedentary lifestyle, rich diet & stress.

In First century B.C. – Ancient Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia coins the term diabetes, meaning “one who straddles” or “siphon.” Both terms are appropriate for a disease where patients must pass excessive amounts of urine.

1425 – The word diabetes is first recorded in English in a medical text.
1675 – English physician Dr. Thomas Willis adds the word mellitus, Latin for “honey,” to the term diabetes, due to the sweet taste of diabetic urine.
1900 – Based on animal resesarch, Drs. Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski discovered that the pancreas plays a role in diabetes.
1910 – Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer dubs the chemical produced by the pancreas insulin.
1922 – The first diabetic patient is treated with insulin injections, resulting in the treatment team’s receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923.
1936 – Type 1 diabetes is distinguished from type 2 diabetes by Sir Harold Percival Himsworth.
1942 – The first sulfonylureas are identified.
1977 – The radioimmunoassay for insulin is discovered by Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson.
1988 – Dr. Gerald Reaven identifies metabolic syndrome.
1990s – Thiazolidinedione is identified as an effective insulin sensitizer.
2007 – A trial of 15 newly diagnosed patients treated with stem cells raised from their own bone marrow showed that most of the patients no longer required insulin treatment for extended periods of time.