Up until the early 20th century, being diagnosed with diabetes was essentially a death sentence. Without an effective treatment, patients died due to ketoacidosis, a complication of uncontrolled diabetes in which the body produces high levels of toxic blood acids called ketones.1
We’ve always said that medicine is a humbling profession. Because it was never and will never be an exact science, one can expect shifting trends in the way we treat most medical problems. Despite all the advances of research, physicians will never know enough of any particular illness. And as we get to know more because of continuing research, the realization is that one’s specialty is simply too wide-ranging, beyond the capability of any human physician to be considered a specialist in; hence, the need to subspecialize further into smaller fields or even specific diseases.
