Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and many skin disorders (e.g., complications of leprosy such as skin lesions).[6][7][8] While thalidomide has been used in a number of HIV-associated conditions, such use is associated with increased levels of the virus.[6]
Common side effects include sleepiness, rash, and dizziness.[6] Severe side effects include tumor lysis syndrome, blood clots, and peripheral neuropathy.[9] Thalidomide is a known human teratogen and carries an extremely high risk of severe, life-threatening birth defects if administered during pregnancy. It causes skeletal deformities such as amelia (absence of legs and/or arms), absence of bones, and phocomelia (malformation of the limbs). A single dose of thalidomide, regardless of dosage, is enough to cause teratogenic effects.[6]
Thalidomide was first marketed in 1957 in West Germany, where it was available over the counter.[10][11] When first released, thalidomide was promoted for anxiety, trouble sleeping, "tension", and morning sickness.[11][12] While it was initially thought to be safe in pregnancy, concerns regarding birth defects arose, resulting in its removal from the market in Europe in 1961.[10][11] The total number of infants affected by thalidomide use during pregnancy is estimated at 10,000, of whom about 40% died around the time of birth.[6][11] Those who survived had limb, eye, urinary tract, and heart problems.[10] Its initial entry into the US market was prevented by Frances Kelsey, a reviewer at the FDA.[12] The birth defects caused by thalidomide led to the development of greater drug regulation and monitoring in many countries.[10][12]
It was approved in the United States in 1998 for use as a treatment for cancer.[6] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[13][14] It is available as a generic medication.[9][15]
^"Thalidomide". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^"Thalomid- thalidomide capsule". DailyMed. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
^"Thalidomide BMS EPAR". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
^"Thalidomide Lipomed EPAR". European Medicines Agency. 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
^ abcdTeo SK, Colburn WA, Tracewell WG, Kook KA, Stirling DI, Jaworsky MS, et al. (2004). "Clinical pharmacokinetics of thalidomide". Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 43 (5): 311–27. doi:10.2165/00003088-200443050-00004. PMID 15080764. S2CID 37728304.
^ abcdef"Thalidomide Monograph for Professionals". Drugs.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^"Thalidomide Monograph for Professionals". Drugs.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
^"Thalidomide | C13H10N2O4". PubChem. National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine. CID 5426. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ abBritish national formulary : BNF 76 (76 ed.). Pharmaceutical Press. 2018. p. 936. ISBN 9780857113382.
^ abcdCuthbert A (2003). The Oxford Companion to the Body. Oxford University Press. p. 682. doi:10.1093/acref/9780198524038.001.0001. ISBN 9780198524038.
^ abcdMiller MT (1991). "Thalidomide embryopathy: a model for the study of congenital incomitant horizontal strabismus". Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society. 89: 623–74. PMC 1298636. PMID 1808819.
^ abcLoue S, Sajatovic M (2004). Encyclopedia of Women's Health. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 644. ISBN 9780306480737. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
^Organization, World Health (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771.
^World Health Organization (2021). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 22nd list (2021). Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/345533. WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2021.02.
^"First Generic Drug Approvals". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 30 May 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma)...
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the use of thalidomide in 46 countries by women who were pregnant or who subsequently became pregnant resulted in the...
appendage. A prominent cause of phocomelia is the mother's use of the drug thalidomide during pregnancy; however, the causes of most cases are to be determined...
Chemical agents Prescription and recreational drugs (e.g., alcohol, thalidomide) Environmental toxins and contaminants (e.g., heavy metals such as mercury...
immune responses) containing an imide group. The IMiD class includes thalidomide and its analogues (lenalidomide, pomalidomide, mezigdomide and iberdomide)...
considered a side effect. For information regarding birth defects, see thalidomide. Somnolence (drowsiness; ~40%) Edema (~60%) Hypotension (low blood pressure)...
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the lack of evidence regarding...
example of the importance of stereochemistry relates to the thalidomide disaster. Thalidomide is a pharmaceutical drug, first prepared in 1957 in Germany...
1962) is an English thalidomide survivor and activist. She is a past chair of the National Advisory Committee of the Thalidomide Trust, the organisation...
a British thalidomide survivor, painter, lace maker, and carriage driver with the RDA. Mercer was a representative of the global thalidomide community...
following the thalidomide disaster the development and licensing of drugs changed dramatically. First synthesized in 1953, thalidomide was widely prescribed...
adjusted in people with kidney problems. Lenalidomide is closely related to thalidomide, which is known to cause severe birth defects, so its use during pregnancy...
the other enantiomer is harmful, like salbutamol and thalidomide. The (R) enantiomer of thalidomide is effective against morning sickness, while the (S)...
activity of thalidomide in the chick and zebrafish was cast into doubt due to a 2013 report that pomalidomide (a more potent thalidomide analogue) does...
compound of pomalidomide, thalidomide, was originally discovered to inhibit angiogenesis in 1994. Based upon this discovery, thalidomide was taken into clinical...
wildly in their pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic profile. The tragedy of thalidomide illustrates the potential for extreme consequences resulting from the...
The act was introduced following problems with the off-label use of thalidomide. The act established the forerunner to the actual Commission on Human...