1921 · Medicine · Research
Pancreatic-extract research
Nicolae Paulescu
The idea
Paulescu published experiments showing that pancreatic extracts lowered blood sugar in diabetic dogs.
His 1921 experiments are an important part of insulin’s history. Developing a reproducible treatment for people was a separate breakthrough achieved by the Toronto team of Banting, Best, Macleod and Collip. The exhibit credits Paulescu’s research without attributing clinical insulin treatment to him alone.
A life behind the work · 1869–1931
Nicolae Paulescu
Born in Bucharest, Paulescu studied medicine in Paris, worked with Étienne Lancereaux and returned to a university career in physiology in Romania. His 1921 publications described pancreatic extracts that lowered blood sugar in diabetic dogs. This was an important experimental contribution; the Toronto team separately developed insulin into a reproducible clinical treatment. His public life also included virulent antisemitic writing and participation in far-right antisemitic political organisations. Both the laboratory research and this documented political activity belong in an account of his life.
Biography & sources ↗