First insulin injection is distinct from first success

Chagas connected a parasitic organism, an insect vector and a human case in his research.

The 14 April diagnosis preceded later research into the diverse long-term effects of Chagas disease.

The fourteen-year-old patient was given a first pancreatic extract injection in Toronto.

The initial extract had only limited effect and caused a local reaction; a successful improved treatment followed later.

Leonard Thompson was the first human recipient in this Toronto research program.

After the earlier limited-response injection, a preparation purified by Collip produced a marked improvement.

The second series of injections substantially reduced symptoms and biochemical evidence of diabetes.

Collip’s chemistry helped turn an experimental extract into a useful clinical treatment.

The achievement involved the patient and researchers Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod.

A critically ill woman received a scarce supply of the antibiotic during a life-threatening infection.