Texas-based Dr. Willa Hsueh has dedicated much of her career toward understanding diabetes. In 2009, Dr. Willa Hsueh helped to establish the Methodist Diabetes And Metabolism Institute for The Methodist Hospital System, and her organization earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as being one of the Best Hospitals in Diabetes and Endocrinology in 2011-2012. Today, the Hsueh investigative team is looking for new ways to treat diabetes and to make insulin more effective.
Although diabetes has received a lot of attention over the past several years due to the significant increase in cases across the country, its history extends back thousands of years. Greek physician Aretaeus first coined the term “diabetes” in the first or second century A.D. Based on the Greek word diabainein, which means “to pass through” or “to siphon,” he chose the name due to the quickness in which patients passed fluids.
However, doctors could not properly determine whether a person had the condition until the 17th century. During this period, the London physician Dr. Thomas Willis developed the first diabetes test by tasting the sweetness of his patients' urine. Sweeter urine meant diabetes due to excess blood sugar. Nevertheless, doctors were still unable to treat the disease, and typical recommendations forced patients to nearly starve themselves without curtailing the symptoms.
It took hundreds of years for a proper treatment to emerge. In 1921, Canadian doctors Frederick Banting and Charles Best kept a diabetic dog alive for more than 70 days using canine pancreas extract. As they continued their tests, they discovered the reason for their success was insulin.
Although diabetes has received a lot of attention over the past several years due to the significant increase in cases across the country, its history extends back thousands of years. Greek physician Aretaeus first coined the term “diabetes” in the first or second century A.D. Based on the Greek word diabainein, which means “to pass through” or “to siphon,” he chose the name due to the quickness in which patients passed fluids.
However, doctors could not properly determine whether a person had the condition until the 17th century. During this period, the London physician Dr. Thomas Willis developed the first diabetes test by tasting the sweetness of his patients' urine. Sweeter urine meant diabetes due to excess blood sugar. Nevertheless, doctors were still unable to treat the disease, and typical recommendations forced patients to nearly starve themselves without curtailing the symptoms.
It took hundreds of years for a proper treatment to emerge. In 1921, Canadian doctors Frederick Banting and Charles Best kept a diabetic dog alive for more than 70 days using canine pancreas extract. As they continued their tests, they discovered the reason for their success was insulin.