Resumen

ALVAREZ ALDANA, Dagoberto  y  RODRIGUEZ BEBERT, Yuliet. Doctor Octavio Montoro and the first cases of diabetes treated with insulin in Cuba. Rev Cubana Endocrinol [online]. 2003, vol.14, n.2. ISSN 1561-2953.

The clinical use of insulin by Banting and Best represents a hallmark in the history of medical sciences. The advances in this field have been amazing and our country was also involved in this development. However, little is known about the first works carried out by Cuban physicians in the application of insulin therapy, a significant event in the history of Cuban endocrinology but practically unknown for the new generations of endocrinologists. This literature review is aimed at underlining the introduction of insulin in modern clinics as an important event in Cuban medical histography, disseminating the clinical evolution and therapeutical scheme applied to the first cases of diabetes mellitus treated with insulin in Cuba and emphasizing the determination and capacity of the health professionals who were the pioneers of the clinical use of insulin in those years, among them Doctor Octavio Montoro. We consulted the medical references, files and other sources of that time to make this paper. As a result, it was learned that the treatment with insulin of diabetic patients was introduced in Cuba on February,1923 by Doctor Montoro, who had been recognized by his medical pieces of knowledge and vast culture. He occupied several posts and received a number of decorations. It was concluded that Cuba was one of the first countries in the world that used insulin as a therapeutical weapon against diabetes. Doctor Octavio Montoro made important contributions to research on diabetes; therefore, according to our opinion, he deserves to be considered as father of diabetology in our country.