At the beginning of the 20th century, diabetes was a fatal disease with no effective treatment. People with type 1 diabetes did not survive more than a few weeks or months after diagnosis. The only way to prolong life was to follow a strict diet, low in carbohydrates and sugar, and rich in fat and protein.

But everything changed in 1921, when two Canadian researchers, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, managed to isolate insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood glucose levels. They discovered that by injecting insulin extracted from the pancreas of dogs into other dogs that had their pancreas removed, they could reverse the symptoms of diabetes.

In January 1922, they performed the first test on a human being: Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy who was on the verge of death in a Toronto hospital. The first injection of insulin caused an allergic reaction, but after purifying the substance, they were able to administer a second dose, which drastically reduced Leonard's blood glucose level.

It was a medical miracle that saved Leonard's life and that of millions of other people with diabetes around the world. Banting and Best, along with two other collaborators, John Macleod and James Collip, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923 for their historic achievement.

The discovery of insulin was the beginning of a new era in diabetes research, which continues today, looking for ways to prevent, treat and cure this disease that affects millions of people.

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