Insulin

Used by diabetics, insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood.

Works Cited

About Insulin. (2014, January 1). International Diabetes Federation. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.idf.org/about-insulin-0

Gower, T. (2014, January 1). HowStuffWorks "History of Insulin". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/history-of-insulin.htm

How insulin is made using bacteria :: DNA Learning Center. (n.d.). DNALC Blogs. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.dnalc.org/view/15928-How-insulin-is-made-using-bacteria.html

Human Insulin. (2014, January 1). - Types, Production, Action, History. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.diabetes.co.uk/insulin/human-insulin.html

Living with Type 2 Diabetes. (2014, January 1). Canadian Diabetes Association. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.diabetes.ca/diabetes-and-you/living-with-type-2-diabetes

The Pros & Cons of the Use of GMO Insulin. (2013, October 24). LIVESTRONG.COM. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/231364-the-pros-cons-of-the-use-of-gmo-insulin/

What is synthetically manufactured insulin? - Curiosity. (2011, January 1). Curiosity. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-is-synthetically-manufactured-insulin

Weins, A. E. (n.d.). The Symbiotic Relationship of Science and Technology in the 21st Century. JOTS v25n2. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/Summer-Fall-1999/Wiens.html

Cons

Insulin

• May result in bad reaction *

• Causes availability of animal insulin to decrease

Artificial/Non-human insulin

How it's made

Pros

• Can be grown at a lower cost

• Space required for production is much smaller

• Unlimited supply

• Identical to human insulin

http://www.dnalc.org/view/15928-How-insulin-is-made-using-bacteria.html

The debate

Artificial insulin

Animal insulin

How it's made

Quick history

• Developed 1960's &1970's

Approved for pharmaceutical use 1982

• Produced in a lab to mimic the insulin in humans

• Genetic material of a bacterium of a yeast is reprogrammed to make insulin instead of proteins.

• Insulin is purified so it contains no trace of the original bacterium.

• First type of insulin to be administered to humans to control diabetes.

• 1922, Dr. Frederick Banting's successful experiment wins him a Nobel Prize. *University of Toronto

• Commercial production of insulin began shortly after.

HOW IT WORKS

Insulin therapy replaces the insulin the pancreas cannot produce.

Type 1 Diabetes

The pancreas is unable to produce insulin.

Animal insulin

It's main job is to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream.

After you eat, carbohydrates break down into sugar and are released into the bloodstream in the form of glucose. Then the pancreas produces insulin which allows the sugar to enter tissues.

Insulin levels are high after you eat, and excess glucose is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen.

When you are not eating insulin levels are low. During this time, the liver releases glycogen into the bloodstream in the form of sugar.

This is how the blood sugar levels are regulated.

• Taken from the pancreas of pigs and cows

• Islets of Langerhans are isolated from pancreas

• Purified to reduce the chance of the user developing a reaction.

Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin therapy replaces the insulin the pancreas cannot produce.

The pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or there is an insulin resistance.