During the first half of the 20th century, two world wars wreaked havoc on the world politically, economically, geographically and socially. As tremendous changes were taking place reshaping the state of the world, at the home front, new discoveries began to restructure the world of medicine. The general public and medical practitioners observed a shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases. This shift required a reevaluation of what it meant to have a sickness or disease. Promising medical discoveries were proven to be able to prolong life and provide comfort to those living with chronic illnesses and diseases. Although, these remarkable discoveries gave the chronically ill hope for longevity, but the economic downfall of the beginning …show more content…
Medical discoveries, although monumental, did not necessarily “cure, but could control the disease and save the patient’s life.” (Gardener, 2004) “The patients’ perspective exposes the hope invested in insulin, and the intimacy that emerged between patient, parents, and physicians, who all worked to manage this chronic illness.” (Gardener, 2004). Additionally, lifestyle changes became a part of the treatment protocol. Dr. Elliot Joslin, who ran a diabetics clinic noted that it was “morally imperative that patients rearrange their lives to achieve a delicate balance between medication, exercise, and diet.” (Gardener, 2004) Doctors created patient treatment protocols that took into account the state of the body as a whole rather than fixating on a single biological agent. After the war, death rates from diabetes increased. Researchers were able to identify a connection between the prevalent availability of sugar and fat post war as opposed to during the wars (Cutter, 1935). Doctors began to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle as a means to prevent chronic illnesses. Diabetes was noted to have been occasionally associated with people who were overweight and that the “persons have consumed too much food and have stored up surplus fat that should have been burned through work or exercise” (Cutter, 1935). Socially, the …show more content…
Although medical research rushed to keep up with the transition from infectious to chronic diseases. People had to adjust of what being sick meant. Doctors and patients began to establish lasting relationships in an effort to control a disease. Although many people were able given the opportunity of longevity without a cure, many people were unable to gain access and continue to battle without the treatments they needed. Unfortunately, many of these economic struggles are still prevalent today. As the developed world transitions into the next stage of the epidemiological transition and the developing world moves into the modern era, one can only hope that the international system will evolve economically enough to provide a sustainable system capable ensuring accessibility to medical treatments as well as distributing affordable medications for those in
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
During the year 1889, two researchers, Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, discovered the disease that is known today as diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the insulin levels (a hormone produced in unique cells called the islets of Langerhans found in the pancreas) in the bloodstream are irregular and therefore affect the way the body uses sugars, as well as other nutrients. Up until the 1920’s, it was known that being diagnosed with diabetes was a death sentence which usually affected “children and adults under 30.” Those who were diagnosed were usually very hungry and thirsty, which are two of the symptoms associated with diabetes. However, no matter how much they ate, their bodies wouldn’t be able to use the nutrients due to the lack of insulin.
Insulin is by far the most influential discovery in Canadian and world history. In Canada in 2008/2009 there were 2.4 million people living with diabetes and there are many more today. With out the discovery of insulin many people would not be able to live full lives. However, the discovery of insulin was not just an accomplishment Fredrick Banting and his colleagues had developed in the 1920s, it was a product of timing and luck on Banting’s part and the idea that he took from others was the product that changed the century.
One of the greatest medical milestones in history discovered in the 1920s was insulin. Diabetes is commonly known as a relatively harmless condition in today’s era, however before insulin was discovered, it was lethal. Insulin is a substance which the pancreas produces to break down food, this effects the blood glucose levels (Wikispaces.com). Diabetes is when the body is unable to produce the required amount by itself, thus building up the glucose in the blood (Wikispaces). A few symptoms caused by diabetes are damage to the nerves, blurred vision and muscle cramps (Wikispaces.com). In 1922, Frederick Banting and his research assistant Charles Best isolated insulin and successfully lowered a dog’s blood sugar (glucose) level (About.com). Once the insulin was prepared for human u...
Jost, Kenneth. “Diabetes Epidemic: why is this serious disease on the increase?” The CQ Researcher (March 9, 2001): 185-200
Since the dawn of man, humans have dreaded the suffering caused by injuries and disease. For our benefit, we have enhanced the practices of Medicine and its techniques, but before such ideas existed; the risk of recovery was extremely traumatic and at times fatal. We have abandoned several of the medical procedures used in ancient times since intrepid scientists and physicians sought methods. Although medicine was not always a science, instead it was magic, thus god were trusted for a few techniques more than actual logic. Therefore, the history of medicine has been disturbing and dangerous, but a good number of its practices today used in a more modern way, is quite beneficial to humanity.
History: Humans have been trying to cure disease and illness for thousands of years, only truly succeeding in 1796. Edward Jenner created the firs...
Within the last century, the advancements of modern science, technology and research have increased the average human life expectancy worldwide. While new research has produced drugs to help us live longer with diseases like cancer, AIDS and diabetes, it has also created designer drugs to aid and relieve the side affects of aging. With these benefits come personal rights and social responsibilities not faced by previous generations. For all of the of those that work tirelessly to bring these drugs to improve the daily life of others for little rewards, there are pharmaceutical giants whose profits climb to new heights by marketing drugs to the aging population. This paper will discuss two ethical issues surrounding longevity, the ethics of pharmaceutical companies associated with keeping us alive and comfortable, and the right to an individual’s definition of quality of life.
In conclusion, the ultimate significance to this type of work is to improve the quality of healthcare in these extremely impoverished nations. This argument is represented in Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, Monte Leach’s “Ensuring Health Care as a Global Human Right”, and Darshark Sanghavi’s “Is it Cost Effective to Treat the World’s Poor.” The idea that universal healthcare is a human right is argued against in Michael F. Cannon’s “A “Right” to health care?” Cannon claims that it would not work, and fills the holes that the other authors leave in their arguments. All of these articles share the same ultimate goal, and that is to provide every individual with adequate health care, and to not let so many people die from things that could easily have been prevented or treated.
The life expectancy in Europe and America averaged about 30 to 40 years in 1800 A.D. However, through medical breakthroughs this expectancy has increased double -75 years- in the last two hundred years. One important reason of this increase is the discovering of what causes diseases. The development of medical science in different ways has yielded so many advances in recognizing the pathogenic factors of diseases and how to fight with them. This progress has resulted significant alteration in the factors of premature death due to diseases (Medical Health tests
The contributions of several doctors, researchers, and scientists helped improve the health of the growing population. In 1850 the average life expectancy was 42 years. By 1910 the average life expectancy had risen to nearly 55 years. Between 1850 and 1910 there were several advances in the medical field. The introduction of genes, white blood cells, blood groups, insulin, rubber gloves, aspirin, and vitamins and the discoveries of Pasteur, Charcot, Halsted, Zirm, Lister, and Koch were the starting point of an international fight against disease.
Besides the computer revolution, medical advances have caused tension between faith and reason. The medical advances of the Twentieth Century have many beneficial effects for humanity. Diseases that used to be dangerous or life threatening, like mumps, measles, and whooping cough, are no longer worries in todays medical world. Tetanus, typhoid, and the bubonic plaque can now be treated with antibiotics or other medicines. Vaccines, especially the polio vaccine, freed many people from the effects of a disease. Advances in heart surgery and organ transplants have saved many lives. Anesthetics and painkillers have been made to reduce or eliminate pain during surgery or a painful disease. Advances in cancer and AIDS have also been made, although many of the details of these diseases are yet to be learned.
Freeman, David H. "The Triumph of New-Age Medicine." The Atlantic. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .
Preventing diseases is every countries’ responsibility, whether they are poor or rich. Poor countries lack the knowledge and the money to gain, and expand medical resources. Therefore, many people are not been able to be cured. For wealthy countries, diseases are mutating at incredible speeds. Patients are dying because drug companies do not have enough data to produce vaccines to cure patients. When developed countries help poor countries to cure their people, the developed countries could help underdeveloped countries. Since developed countries can provide greater medical resources to poor countries, people living in the poor countries could be cured. As for the developed countries, they can collect samples from the patients so that the drug companies can produce new vaccines for new diseases. When trying to cure diseases, developed countries and poor countries would have mu...
From the beginning of time, human life has faced problems with diseases and health care. Ancient ailments have been with mankind as far as man can remember, such as arthritis and, infectious bone disease found in fossilized bones and Egyptian mummies, indicating its existence. Then a human life span was only 20-30years, chronic illnesses were rare and preventative medicine primarily consisted of warding off evil spirits by painting the body or sometimes even mutilating it (Mitchell, Heroun 37). As time went on and new “tools” better described as “technology” is created and applied the everyday use in many ways. For example; in the 1600’s the invention of the printing press quickly allowed for new books and information to be widely distributed. By the 18th century progress increased due to the rapid sharing of knowledge from one to the next. With the knowledge of many experiments and studies came the philosophy of “enlightenment” witch took on a more rational approach to problems and knowledge that can be read (Mitchell, Heroun 39). the In the early 19th century preventive medicine made great strides as the average human lifespan increased from 40 years in 1850 to 70 years in1950. As advances were m...