Cited by 270Diabetes Management and ResearchDiabetes Treatment and ManagementPancreatic function and diabetes

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 152 of the 153 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 50 of the 121 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

100 years of insulin: celebrating the past, present and future of diabetes therapy

Open access
Sims, Emily K., Carr, Alice L. J., Oram, Richard A., DiMeglio, Linda A., Evans-Molina, Carmella·2021·Nature Medicine

Abstract

The year 2021 marks the centennial of Banting and Best’s landmark description of the discovery of insulin. This discovery and insulin’s rapid clinical deployment effectively transformed type 1 diabetes from a fatal diagnosis into a medically manageable chronic condition. In this Review, we describe key accomplishments leading to and building on this momentous occasion in medical history, including advancements in our understanding of the role of insulin in diabetes pathophysiology, the molecular characterization of insulin and the clinical use of insulin. Achievements are also viewed through the lens of patients impacted by insulin therapy and the evolution of insulin pharmacokinetics and delivery over the past 100 years. Finally, we reflect on the future of insulin therapy and diabetes treatment, as well as challenges to be addressed moving forward, so that the full potential of this transformative discovery may be realized. Decades of scientific accomplishment have transformed diabetes treatment; this Review describes key milestones in our understanding of the insulin molecule and looks to the future of insulin therapy.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This centennial review traces 100 years of insulin from Banting and Best’s discovery through molecular characterization, clinical insulin development, and evolving diabetes pathophysiology, and outlines future therapies. It emphasizes that insulin transformed type 1 diabetes into a manageable chronic condition while access and affordability remain major challenges.

Key findings

  • The Toronto group isolated insulin in 9 months, kept the longest-living pancreatectomized dog Marjorie alive for more than 70 days, and treated 14-year-old Leonard Thompson in January 1922; the team sold the patents to the University of Toronto for CAN$1, and Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize.
  • Islet autoantibody risk data show a single autoantibody confers 13% risk of type 1 diabetes over 15 years, whereas two or more autoantibodies confer 70% risk over 10 years and 84% over 15 years; type 2 diabetes now has more than 250 associated loci with 400 independent signals, explaining just under 20% of heritability.
  • Insulin therapy advanced from U-5 regular insulin to U-100 and concentrated preparations, from protamine zinc insulin in the 1930s to recombinant human insulin in 1978 and Humulin in 1983, and to rapid-acting lispro (1996), aspart (2000), and glulisine (2004), plus basal glargine (2000), detemir (2005), and degludec with >42 h action.
  • A 14-day course of teplizumab delayed stage 3 type 1 diabetes by a median of 32.5 months in high-risk multiple-autoantibody-positive individuals with dysglycemia; in the USA, diabetes costs averaged nearly US$800 per month, with nearly 50% from pharmacy costs, and insulin list prices rose 14–17% per year from 2012 to 2016.

Methods

  • Narrative review synthesizing historical, molecular, pathophysiologic, and clinical literature on insulin and diabetes over 100 years.
  • No primary data collection, systematic search strategy, or formal inclusion criteria are described.
  • The paper includes timelines, figures, and patient perspectives but does not report a meta-analysis or structured evidence synthesis.

Limitations

  • The paper states no formal limitations.
  • As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic search and inclusion criteria and presents no new primary data (evident from the text).
  • Potential selection or interpretation bias in the historical and clinical synthesis is not addressed (evident from the text); access and affordability are discussed as ongoing challenges, not as review limitations.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s41591-021-01418-2

Cites

152 of 152 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

27 No full text of the sources · 25 Partly supported · 8 Own interpretation · 7 Supported · 5 Sources not found · 3 Supported so far · 2 Couldn’t confirm · 2 Not checked yet · 2 No basis given · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 40 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 32
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 15
41 of 41
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin.

    “The year 2021 marks the centennial of Banting and Best’s landmark description of the discovery of insulin.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Population-based screening for type 1 diabetes is increasingly performed in several countries and regions, based on autoantibody measurement and sometimes genetic risk assessment.

    “In this regard, population-based screening is now being increasingly performed in several countries and regions, and is based on autoantibody measurement and, in some cases, assessment of genetic risk.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    For type 1 diabetes, the goal of eliminating exogenous insulin therapy is a centerpiece of clinical trials testing disease-modifying interventions, including ongoing work in Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, the Immune Tolerance Network and INNODIA.

    “For type 1 diabetes, this goal is a centerpiece of clinical trials testing disease-modifying interventions, including work that is ongoing in several large networks such as Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, the Immune Tolerance Network and INNODIA.”
3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Show all 153 references

Research works printed but not linked: 11

  1. Dobson, M. Nature of the urine in diabetes. Med. Obs. Inq. 5, 298–310 (1776).
  2. De Meyer, J. Action de la sécrétion interne du pancréas sur différents organes et en particulier sur la sécrétion rénale. Arch. Fisiol. 7, 96–99 (1909).
  3. Lancereaux, E. Le diabète maigre, ses symptômes, son évolution, son pronostic et son traitement. Union Med. 29, 161 (1880).
  4. Renold, A. E., Soeldner, S. & Steinke, J. in Ciba Foundation Symposium ‐ Aetiology of Diabetes Mellitus and its Complications (Colloquia on Endocrinology) Vol. 15 (eds. M.P. Cameron, M. P. & O’Connor, M.) 122–139 (Wiley, 1964).
  5. Lavaux, J. P., Ooms, H. A. & Christiansen, A. H. Insulin antibodies in insulin-treated patients; a clinical trial with highly purified insulins. Int. Congr. Ser. 316, 40–46 (1973).
  6. Institute of Medicine. Sources of Medical Technology: Universities and Industry (National Academies Press, 1995).
  7. Kurtzhals, P. et al. Multi-hexamer formation is the underlying basis for the ultra-long glucose-lowering effect of insulin degludec. Diabetologia 54, S426 (2011).
  8. Sharpey-Schäfer, E. A. An Introduction to the Study of the Endocrine Glands and Internal Secretions: Lane Medical Lectures, 1913 (Stanford Univ. Press, 1914).
  9. Katzung, B. G. M., Susan B. & Trevor, A. J. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology 12th edn (McGraw Hill, 2012).
  10. Padmore, E. Reflections on six decades of living with insulin-treated diabetes. J. Diabetes Nurs. 10, 366–370 (2009).
  11. Clothier, C. Living with diabetes in the 1950s. J. Diabetes Nurs. 23, 1–8 (2019).

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Metadata

Authors
Sims, E. K., Carr, A. L. J., Oram, R. A., DiMeglio, L. A., & Evans-Molina, C.
Affiliations
  • Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
  • University of Exeter (GB)
Venue
Nature Medicine
Published
2021-07
Volume
27
Issue
7
Pages
1154-1164
ISSN
  • 1078-8956 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-170X
OpenAlex
W3182160338
Cited by
270
References
153
Citations by year
2026: 46 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 64 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 9
FWCI
5.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Royal Devon and Exeter Research Repository (Royal Devon and Exeter) (submittedVersion)
  • IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (I01-BX001733)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U01DK127786, R01 DK121929, R03 DK117253, R01 DK127308, R01DK093954, P30 DK097512, R21 DK119800)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR002529)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Pancreatic function and diabetes
Keywords
insulin, insulin discovery, Banting and Best, type 1 diabetes, diabetes treatment, insulin pharmacokinetics, insulin delivery, diabetes pathophysiology
MeSH terms
Blood Glucose, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Humans, Insulin

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