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Artificial insulin

It's been the elusive cure, one that scientists have felt they've been on the brink of breaking for the past 80 years. But for years, diabetes has remained a treatable but not yet cured disease. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of death by disease in Canada. Banting and Best are Canada's best known connection to diabetes but the Canadian connection continues. Since the historic discovery of insulin, there have been improvements and refinements. The promise of a cure for all, however, remains as yet unfulfilled, leaving many to live highly regimented and uncertain lives.

Insulin, once deemed the "miracle drug," continues to be refined. When the drug was first introduced, it acted very quickly and needed to be injected frequently. Further modifications were made to the hormone to slow its absorption rate. Most insulin is derived from pig or ox pancreases. Until now, diabetics with acute allergies to those types of natural insulin suffered. But as the biotechnology industry continues to diversify, there is new hope. Dr. Saran Narang of Ottawa explores the use of insulin extracted from genetically modified bacteria in this CBC News report.
• Dr. Narang's cloning research proved to be groundbreaking in the treatment of diabetics. Before he cloned the gene for human proinsulin, the substance made in the pancreas before it is converted into insulin, approximately 15 per cent of diabetics couldn't accept the hormone because of allergies to the animal-derived substance.
• Production of human insulin proved very successful and as of 2003 has mostly replaced animal insulin worldwide.
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: April 9, 1980
Guest: Saran Narang
Host: Knowlton Nash
Reporter: John Blackstone
Duration: 2:14

Last updated: May 31, 2013

Page consulted on May 31, 2013

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