Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle

Overview

It is 1919 and Elizabeth Hughes, the eleven-year-old daughter of America's most distinguished jurist and politician, Charles Evans Hughes, has been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. It is essentially a death sentence for young Elizabeth. The only accepted form of treatment - starvation - whittles her down to forty-five pounds of skin and bones. Meanwhile, miles away, Canadian researchers Frederick Banting and Charles Best manage to identify and purify insulin from animal pancreases - a miracle soon marred by scientific jealousy, intense business competition, and fistfights. In a race against time and a ravaging disease, Elizabeth becomes one of the first diabetics to receive insulin injections while the scientists and a little known pharmaceutical company - Eli Lilly - struggle to make it available to the rest of the world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Thea Cooper ,  Arthur Ainsberg
Publisher:   St Martin's Press
Imprint:   St Martin's Press
Dimensions:   Width: 23.50cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 15.60cm
Weight:   0.513kg
ISBN:  

9780312648701

ISBN 10:   0312648707
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   06 September 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In stock at warehouse  
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Reviews

<p> The twentieth century witnessed many medical miracles, but perhaps none was so transformative as the discovery of insulin for the treatment for diabetes. Breakthrough &#160;is the fascinating tale of Nobel prize-winning research, of a young girl who should have died as a child but instead lived to see seven grandchildren, and of a drug that turned a death sentence into something more akin to a chronic nuisance. This book is an important read for anyone with diabetes. It is an enjoyable read for those who love mystery and human drama. --Kenneth T. Jackson, Barzun Professor of History, Columbia University&#160;

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