Latest edition in diabetes comic book series published to mark 100 years since first insulin treatment
A comic book aimed at supporting young people with type 1 diabetes has been released today, to mark the 100th anniversary when insulin was first used to manage the condition in a patient.
‘Generations’ is the fourth instalment of the series of freely downloadable comics developed by Dr Mayank Patel, of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Partha Kar, of Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, supported by individuals living with type 1 diabetes and Revolve comics.
Funded by Southampton Hospitals Charity, these comics have been developed to help support those with type 1 diabetes, raise awareness and challenge misconceptions.
Dr Patel was keen to use the latest story in the comic book series to highlight the progress that has been made since the first use of the insulin in humans.
He said: “One of the key stand-out moments in my career is to be practising as a diabetes specialist at a time that the century milestones could be marked of both the discovery of insulin in 1921, and first use of insulin in a human a year later.
“It’s easy to forget how much progress has been made around the use of insulin, an important hormone for all of us. We, as the comic team, really wanted to mark this first insulin use moment in the best way we knew we could - through the medium of comic book art.
“We hope that this story will help everyone learn a lot more about insulin, launching 100 years to the day that insulin was first used. It’s been a joy to work on this and we sincerely hope the readers get as much enjoyment from reading it, as we did in creating the story.”
Type 1 diabetes, which often develops before the age of 40, occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin to regulate the level of sugar in the blood, known as blood glucose.
Too much glucose can lead to organ damage and, as there is currently no cure, patients are required to take insulin on a daily basis and make healthy lifestyle choices such as reducing sugar in their diets and not smoking.
The award-winning comics have proved popular with patients and their families, with the three previous editions being downloaded over 15,000 times worldwide.
Generations will be available to download from midday on Tuesday, 11 January at www.revolvecomics.com