Table of Contents
- 1 How did thalidomide cause birth defects?
- 2 Why was thalidomide used in pregnancy?
- 3 What birth defects did bendectin cause?
- 4 Who prevented the thalidomide crisis?
- 5 Who discovered thalidomide birth defects?
- 6 Why was bendectin taken off the market?
- 7 Are there any thalidomide babies born in East Germany?
- 8 Who was the first scientist to discover thalidomide?
How did thalidomide cause birth defects?
Led by a team of authors, the study found that thalidomide actively degrades several C 2H 2 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 was thalidomide used in pregnancy?
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.
What countries were affected by thalidomide?
Among the nearly 50 countries affected are Japan (approximately 300 survivors), Canada and Sweden (both more than 100), and Australia (45). Spain’s government only recently acknowledged the drug was ever distributed there. No-one knows how many Spanish survivors there are. It could be hundreds.
Which enantiomer thalidomide causes birth defects?
The (R)-enantiomer is an effective sedative medication and the (S)-enantiomer may be teratogenic. (S)-Thalidomide was shown to be responsible for over 2000 cases of birth defects in children born to women who took the drug during pregnancy (Figure 6) (see Chapters 1.4 and 1.8).
What birth defects did bendectin cause?
Butler also cited a two-month-old federally funded study indicating that women in early pregnancy who swallowed the original Bendectin tablets may have quadrupled the risk of pyloric stenosis, a birth defect of the stomach that restricts an infant’s ability to eat.
Who prevented the thalidomide crisis?
| 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 |
Why is S thalidomide teratogenic?
The mechanisms underpinning the teratogenic effects of thalidomide are unclear. Here we demonstrate that loss of immature blood vessels is the primary cause of thalidomide-induced teratogenesis and provide an explanation for its action at the cell biological level.
Why is thalidomide bad?
The drug has been prescribed to many pregnant women in order to relieve pregnancy nausea. It was later found that thalidomide caused irreversible damages to the fetus and thousands of children were born with severe congenital malformations. Many of them did not survive more than a few days after they were born.
Who discovered thalidomide birth defects?
In the 1960s, two medical professionals; Dr Widukind Lenze and Dr William McBride, observed an association between the use of thalidomide in expecting mothers and congenital malformations.
Why was bendectin taken off the market?
“Bendectin” (Doxylamine/Dicyclomine/Pyridoxine) was widely used for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy until 1983, when production was discontinued in the face of lawsuits alleging that the drug caused congenital malformations.
What kind of birth defects did thalidomide cause?
It became apparent in the 1960s that thalidomide treatment resulted in severe birth defects in thousands of children. Though the use of thalidomide was banned in most countries at that time, thalidomide proved to be a useful treatment for leprosy and later, multiple myeloma.
When was thalidomide taken off the market in Europe?
While initially deemed to be safe in pregnancy, concerns regarding birth defects were noted in 1961, and the medication was removed from the market in Europe that year. Thalidomide was developed and first released by the German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal in 1954.
Are there any thalidomide babies born in East Germany?
There are no known thalidomide babies born in East Germany. Meanwhile, in West Germany, it took some time before the increase in dysmelia at the end of the 1950s was connected with thalidomide.
Who was the first scientist to discover thalidomide?
German paediatrician Widukind Lenz, who also suspected the link, is credited with conducting the scientific research that proved thalidomide was causing birth defects in 1961.