What was the tragedy caused by thalidomide?
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What was the tragedy caused by thalidomide?
Abstract. Thalidomide was a widely used drug in the late 1950s and early 1960s for the treatment of nausea in pregnant women. It became apparent in the 1960s that thalidomide treatment resulted in severe birth defects in thousands of children.
How many babies were affected by the thalidomide tragedy?
The thalidomide scandal In the few short years that thalidomide was available, it’s estimated that over 10,000 babies were affected by the drug worldwide. Around half died within months of being born. The thalidomide babies who survived and their families live with the effects of the drug.
How many birth defects did thalidomide cause?
It was not until 1961 that thalidomide was confirmed by two independent clinicians, Lenz in Germany and McBride in Australia, to be the cause of the largest man‐made medical disaster in history (McBride, 1961; Lenz, 1962) with huge numbers (over 10,000) of severe birth defects in children.
Why did thalidomide affect babies?
Led by a team of authors, the study found that thalidomide actively degrades several C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors, including a cell protein known as SALL4. Without SALL4, cells are unable to fully develop which inhibits a foetus’s ability to grow limbs and other important organs.
Why is thalidomide still used today?
Thalidomide research continues as doctors find new uses for the drug. Research has shown some promise in using thalidomide to treat inflammatory skin conditions, such as cutaneous lupus and Behcet’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and many types of cancer.
Who was thalidomide tested on?
Thalidomide was developed in Germany in the 1950s as a sedative and was tested in several (non-pregnant) animal species and then in humans. The animal results seemed to show that even very high doses were not harmful.
Who was the first thalidomide baby?
In 1961, the manufacturer took thalidomide off the market. Survivors are still living with its effects. In April 1962, Gunhild Krämer-Kornja was born in the small German town of Allendorf. She had short arms, four fingers on each hand — some of which had grown together — and her rectum was on the side of her hip.
Did thalidomide babies get compensation?
Initially no compensation was paid. However, in February 1968, following a legal battle led by their families, compensation (at 40% of the level of assessed damages) was paid to 62 thalidomide-affected children born in the UK by Distillers as a result of an initial (infant) settlement.
Who prevented the thalidomide disaster?
Frances Oldham Kelsey
| Frances Oldham Kelsey | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Pharmacologist and physician |
| Known for | Preventing thalidomide from being marketed in the United States |
| Spouse(s) | Fremont Ellis Kelsey (m. 1943, d. 1966) |
| Children | 2 |
What countries still use thalidomide?
Several European countries and Japan have also recorded MM as the primary use for thalidomide [14,15]. In Brazil, thalidomide is indicated for the treatment of ENL, aphthous ulcers in patients with HIV-AIDS, graft-versus-host disease, lupus erythematosus, MM, and myelodysplastic syndrome [16].
Why is thalidomide used today?
Who funded thalidomide?
Although each person receives an annual grant from The Thalidomide Trust (funded by the initial Distiller’s payment and additional funding from Diageo, the company formed in 1997 by a merger between Grand Metropolitan and Guinness – who took over Distillers in 1990) and a Government-funded Health Grant, thalidomide …
Why did FDA reject thalidomide?
After a thorough review, Kelsey rejected the application for thalidomide on the grounds that it lacked sufficient evidence of safety through rigorous clinical trials. Today we take it for granted that the FDA wisely spurned an unsafe drug.
