Banting
Banting (Sir Frederick Grant) physiologist Banting (Banting, Sir Frederick Grant) Canadian physiologist. Born in Allison, Ontario on November 14, 1891; died in Newfoundland on February 21, 1941. Banting was at the University of Toronto, where he initially studied for the priesthood and later switched to medicine. After receiving his medical degree in 1916, he served overseas as a military doctor for two years after the First World War. Wounded at Cambrai, he was awarded the Army Cross in 1918 for his bravery under fire. Soon after practicing medicine, Banting became interested in diabetes, the main biochemical symptom of which is hyperglycemia, which results in the presence of glucose in the urine. In those days, diabetes meant slow death. About thirty years ago, it was suspected that the pancreas was related to this disease, because after the pancreas was removed from experimental animals, a condition similar to diabetes would occur. After Starling and Bellis proposed the concept of hormones, it was logical to speculate that the pancreas produces a hormone that can control the metabolism of sugar molecules in the human body. Insufficient secretion of this hormone will cause the accumulation of sugar and lead to diabetes. Of course the main function of the pancreas is to secrete digestive juices. However, the pancreas is dotted with clusters of cells (called "islets of Langerhans," first described half a century ago by Langerhans) that are distinct from the rest of the pancreas and may be responsible for hormone production. place. This hormone is called insulin. The famous Kendall once successfully isolated a hormone, thyroxine, so many people wanted to try to extract insulin from the pancreas. If successful, the proposed hormone will certainly help diabetic patients, who, when treated continuously, will be cured. All attempts to isolate insulin failed. Because once the pancreas is ground up, the digestive enzymes in the pancreas destroy the insulin molecule (protein). In 1920, Banting saw a paper describing how to ligate the pancreatic duct that carries digestive juices to the intestines, which caused pancreatic degeneration. This gave Banting a crucial inspiration. The islets of Langerhans (pancreatic islets) are not involved in secreting digestive juices, so they do not degenerate. If the pancreas degenerates except for the islets, the digestive enzymes that destroy insulin have been removed, and the insulin will remain intact. In 1921, he came to the University of Toronto with this idea in mind. After some setbacks, he persuaded Professor MacLeod of Physiology, promised to give him several laboratories, and appointed a collaborator, Best. Later, MacLeod De left there to spend the summer vacation. Banting and Best ligated the pancreatic ducts of several dogs. After seven weeks, the pancreas of these dogs had shrunk and lost the function of digestive organs, but the islets of pancreas were still intact in appearance. They isolated a fluid from these pancreas and gave it to dogs who had developed diabetes as a result of having their pancreas removed. This extract quickly stops the symptoms of diabetes. Banting and Best called the hormone isletin, while Macleod advocated the interesting, older name insulin. The experiment was completed in 1922, and in 1923 Banting and Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, the first time a Canadian had won the Nobel Prize. Since then, many diabetic patients have been able to live normal lives, including Eastman, Minot, Britain's George V and the writer Wells. Banting was furious because a share of the bonus was given to MacLeod and not to Best, but MacLeod only provided it to Banting's laboratory, and Best and Best should receive a share of his labor. It was not easy to persuade Banting to accept the bonus, and when he accepted it, he gave Best half. In 1923, the Canadian Parliament granted Banting an annuity and established the Banting Research Fund. The Banting-Best Professorship was established at the University of Toronto, and Banting was awarded a knighthood in 1934. After the outbreak of World War II, he participated in field medical work again and served as a major in the Canadian Army, but this time he was unfortunate. Died in plane crash over Newfoundland.