Perhaps one of the earliest clinical trials performed at RNSH was to disprove the use of prickly pear as a treatment for diabetes, a popular misconception. In the Medical Journal of Australia in 1930, Dr Ingram published the results of his carefully conceived and conducted clinical trials. In one experiment he used the extract of prickly pear given to a normal rabbit to see whether there was any change in the Glucose Tolerance Test. He failed to show any active ingredient in prickly pear. Then, with a series of diabetic patients, using an oral extract he showed no demonstrable effect on the blood sugar levels. So, it is likely that the first clinical trial at RNSH was to show that prickly pear was not a useful adjunct in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Dr Ingram continued his research into diabetes and in 1933, he published a monograph titled “ The Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes ,” which proved to be extremely popular.
Oakleigh was one of the cottages acquired in 1920 to house the Institute of Pathological Research. It was later demolished to make way for the new nurses’ home, Vindin House. [ courtesy of Heritage and Archive Collection RNSH ]
William (Bill) Wilson Ingram during his first expedition with BANZARE to Antarctica 1929-1930 [ courtesy of Heritage and Archive Collection RNSH ]
The pathology lab in Oakleigh in 1925
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