Medicine and pharmacy made significant progress by empirical experiments. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine highlights a long list of victories over previously incurable diseases. It was awarded in 1934 to Whipple, Minot and Murphy for their work on the diet of pernicious anemia.
The mechanism of the disease is not known when Whipple presumes that the liver has a role in it. He shows on dogs that the absorption of liver reverses the effects of an induced anemia. In 1926, Minot and Murphy use his results to prepare liver juice for patients showing syndromes of pernicious anemia. The disease is defeated.
The pharmaceutical story does not end at that point, fortunately. As early as 1928, another researcher who was not honored in the Nobel prize improved the diet by injecting liver extracts to the patient, avoiding him a daily swallow of a big quantity of liver food. In 1948, the cause of the pernicious anemia is identified as a deficiency of absorption by the intestine of a previously unidentified vitamin.
On September 21 in New York, Bonhams sells in one lot the Nobel medal and diploma awarded to George Minot along with various related documents, lot 46 estimated $ 200K.
One of these documents is particularly noteworthy. Minot suffered from a severe diabetes. He had been saved from death by the discovery of insulin in 1921. Frederick Banting wrote from Toronto to congratulate him on his Nobel and to comfort him by stating that good quality insulin is also available in Sweden.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Bonhams.
The mechanism of the disease is not known when Whipple presumes that the liver has a role in it. He shows on dogs that the absorption of liver reverses the effects of an induced anemia. In 1926, Minot and Murphy use his results to prepare liver juice for patients showing syndromes of pernicious anemia. The disease is defeated.
The pharmaceutical story does not end at that point, fortunately. As early as 1928, another researcher who was not honored in the Nobel prize improved the diet by injecting liver extracts to the patient, avoiding him a daily swallow of a big quantity of liver food. In 1948, the cause of the pernicious anemia is identified as a deficiency of absorption by the intestine of a previously unidentified vitamin.
On September 21 in New York, Bonhams sells in one lot the Nobel medal and diploma awarded to George Minot along with various related documents, lot 46 estimated $ 200K.
One of these documents is particularly noteworthy. Minot suffered from a severe diabetes. He had been saved from death by the discovery of insulin in 1921. Frederick Banting wrote from Toronto to congratulate him on his Nobel and to comfort him by stating that good quality insulin is also available in Sweden.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Bonhams.
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