George Ludwig Zuelzer

Who was George Ludwig Zuelzer?

George Ludwig Zuelzer was a German physician who was a native of Berlin. He practiced medicine in Berlin until 1934, when he emigrated to New York City. His son, Wolf William Zuelzer was a noted American hematologist and pediatrician.

Zülzer is remembered for his work with diabetes mellitus. He had some success using pancreatic extracts on diabetic dogs, and in 1906 injected an extract called "Acomatrol" into a dying diabetic patient who was in a coma. At first the patient showed improvement, but later suffered from side effects, and died when the Acomatrol supply was exhausted. Acomatrol was based on an extract from calf pancreases, and was manufactured by a local company in Berlin.

Afterwards, Zülzer continued to seek a suitable remedy for diabetes mellitus, but attained little success, and his laboratory was turned over to the German military during World War I. A breakthrough occurred in the early 1920s when Canadian physicians Frederick Banting and Charles Best developed an extract that saved the life of a 14-year-old diabetic patient.