Potential of glitazones in diabetes

摘要

The ancient Egyptians, some 3,500 years ago, thought that diabetes was due to an imbalance of the 'four bodily elements' and recommended the treatment of earth, water, bones, wheat and lead. Thankfully, the situation has improved a little since then! The great revolution in diabetes therapy occurred in 1921 with the first isolation of insulin by Banting and Best in Toronto, and by 1923 insulin was being produced commercially from animal pancreases. The discovery of insulin was hailed as a modern therapeutic miracle, life-saving for many thousands of diabetic patients and health-preserving for millions more.