[Faline]

Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s and typically used to cure morning sickness. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy.

There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used primarily, combined with dexamethasone, to treat multiple myeloma. The drug is a potent teratogen in zebrafish, chickens, rabbits and primates including humans: severe birth defects may result if the drug is taken during pregnancy.

The thalidomide tragedy led to much stricter testing being required for drugs and pesticides before they can be licensed.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, more than 10,000 children in 46 countries were born with deformities such as phocomelia, as a consequence of thalidomide use. The Australian obstetrician William McBride and the German pediatrician Widukind Lenz suspected a link between birth defects and the drug, and this was proved by Lenz in 1961.

McBride was later awarded a number of honours including a medal and prize money by the prestigious L'Institut de la Vie in Paris. In the United Kingdom the drug was licensed in 1958 and, of the approximately 2,000 babies born with defects, 466 survived.

The drug was withdrawn in 1961 and in 1968, after a long campaign by The Sunday Times newspaper, a compensation settlement for the UK victims was reached with Distillers Company Limited (now part of Diageo).

This compensation, which is distributed by the Thalidomide Trust in the UK, was substantially increased by Diageo in 2005. The UK Government gave survivors a grant of £20 million, to be distributed through the Thalidomide Trust, in December 2009. In Germany approximately 2,500 thalidomide babies were born. In some extreme cases, it could kill the patient if there were other diseases or drugs in the body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide

[GiBi]

[Viking64]

Originally Posted by GiBi ↗

[addysb]

poor childs.! thanks for the info kelly

[denmetal80]

Never able to spank the monkey

[Karma]

I remember seeing pics of thalidomide kids before. What an awful thing to happen. Those poor kids. AND the poor parents who must've felt incredibly guilty for taking the anti sickness pills.

[Airbornemama]

That is completely sad,was thalidomide one of the drug's that Marilyn Monroe OD'd on???

[Faline]

I don't know Dawn but i'll try find out

[Shelbeano ^-^]

2nd pic down looks like the Torso from Freaks. Even though they're underpriveleged they're still cute.

[**butterflylove**]

poor bubs bub in pic two is soooo cute