Dr. Calvin Ke, an endocrinologist at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto, declared that the hormone was one of the most monumental discoveries in medicine because it has saved the lives of millions of type 1 diabetics and some with type 2.
One hundred years after the discovery of insulin by Canadian scientists, about 50% of the 100 million people who need this hormone to treat their diabetes, do not have access to the product according to data released on Thursday.
The University of Toronto organized a symposium on insulin as part of the commemoration of the discovery in 1921 of the hormone by Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best, finding for which the former received in 1923 the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
Dr. Calvin Ke, an endocrinologist at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto, where almost 100 years ago Banting and Best synthesized the hormone, told Efe that it was one of the most monumental discoveries in medicine because it has saved the lives of millions of millions ofPeople with type 1 diabetes and some with type 2.
“Without insulin, people with type 1 diabetes develop medical complications that threaten their lives.It is very important that people have access to insulin and be affordable.The centenary is an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that diabetes patients have today, ”Ke added.
It is estimated that last year 463 million people suffered from diabetes, of which 80% are individuals in developing countries.Of this figure, about 100 million need insulin treatment but only about 50% of them have access to the medication.
Dr. Ke stressed that in countries like Mexico, diabetes has become a serious socio-sanitary problem in the face of the increase in cases and the effects it has on the quality of life of patients.
“In Latin America, in Africa, in Asia, high cases of cases are being given.Diabetes reduces the life expectancy of people from 40 to 60 years of age, who will die prematurely between 4 and 10 years before due to disease complications, ”he said.
"It is important to recognize the enormous impact that diabetes has especially in developing countries," he added.
An article published this month in the scientific journal The Lancet, the increase in obesity and diabetes in Latin America is with certainty the main cause of high mortality rates in the region.
“In Mexico and Chile, more than 75% of the female population has an excessive weight.Processed foods with few nutrients and energy density are often the only type of easily affordable food for more unfortunate people, ”added the article.
Dr. KE added that insulin represents 10%, or more, of the medication spending of many of these countries.Where people have to pay the insulin of their own pocket, the cost varies greatly.In some countries it is less than two dollars for a vial of human insulin, and in others it is more than $ 75.
But for many, the cost of a human insulin road is equivalent to the four -day salary, Dr. Ke added.
The Canadian doctor ended up pointing out that it is necessary to eliminate “structural barriers” that exist in many countries and improve health systems to guarantee the treatment of diabetes globally.