Thalidomide: the drug with a dark side but an enigmatic future

Neil Vargesson

Thalidomide: the drug with a dark side but an enigmatic future

Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

Abstract

The drug thalidomide has a notorious past. It was used between 1957-62 as a sedative and to treat morning sickness in early pregnancy but a serious side effect resulted in over 10,000 children born with severe birth defects.

How the drug caused these defects, which could affect most parts of the body and includes phocomelia – where the limbs are shortened and missing the long bones with the digits in some cases extruding from the shoulder or the hip – is becoming clearer.

Original language	English
Specialist publication	The Conversation
Publisher	The Conversation UK
Publication status	Published - 10 Dec 2015

Keywords

Cancer
India
Brazil
Thalidomide
Crohn's disease
Leprosy
Thalidomide series

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

https://theconversation.com/thalidomide-the-drug-with-a-dark-side-but-an-enigmatic-future-50330Licence: CC BY-ND

Cite this

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Thalidomide: the drug with a dark side but an enigmatic future

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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Cite this