The Newfound Neurology of Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

For most of human history, type 1 diabetes mellitus was a terminal diagnosis. First documented in 1500 BCE in Egypt, diabetes was observed causing symptoms such as rapid weight loss, frequent urination, and shortly thereafter, death [1, 2]. In Ancient Rome, the way physicians diagnosed diabetes was by tasting the urine of people suffering from these symptoms, looking for a telltale “sweet” taste and smell (the word mellitus means “honey” in Latin) [1]. In the 1900’s, the only medical treatment for diabetes was an extremely low-calorie diet, which prolonged the patient’s lifespan but ultimately led to death by starvation [3]. In the last 50 years, significant advances in medicine have increased our understanding of diabetes and allowed the development of technology to facilitate management of the diagnosis. Diabetes is currently recognized as a chronic illness, a condition requiring ongoing treatment or monitoring, rather than the death sentence it once was [1,4]. Insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating the amount of glucose in the blood, was the first chemically synthesized human protein in 1963 [5]. In 1979, the first needle-free insulin delivery system was introduced [6]. The continuous glucose monitor was later released in 2006, allowing people with diabetes a real-time update of their blood glucose levels [7]. Because of these technological advancements, people with diabetes are able to more closely control their blood glucose levels, reducing the physical symptoms of hyperglycemia on their bodies [7].People with diabetes are now living longer than ever before as their physical symptoms improve, allowing researchers the opportunity to study the neurological effects of type 1 diabetes for the first time in history [7, 8].