Thalidomide Research Paper

Many people might wonder why kids are born differently than what most consider “normal.” Multiple substances are effects that cause these fetus to develop wrong and not in usual routine that is normally seen in pregnancies. If a pregnant woman chose the wrong temptation and consumed substances that are known to cause damage and can be fatal to a baby, these mothers are making the worst mistake of taking the life of their own child away before the baby can experience what life is. Carrying a baby in the womb is one of the most heaviest challenges a woman can face and many females go wrong by falling into various temptations by not having enough information in pregnancies and going on with their daily lifestyle instead of learning about instant fetal deaths.

A little white pill, sold as an over-the-counter drug, lined the shelves of pharmacies across the globe. Originating from the German drug company, Chemie Grütinethal, this pill was advertised to a highly receptive international market and was a success in 1959. Several years later, physicians began to form a link between phocomelia, a birth deformity, and pregnant woman who ingested the German-created drug. That little white pill is known as Thalidomide. Staying in the market for almost six years, Thalidomide changed the lives of mothers and their newborns for the worse making it one of the largest pharmaceutical failures in the course of mankind. Although the horrific effects of distributing Thalidomide in the late 1950s is historically

In the 1950s to 1960s, there was another rise in fetal birth defects called the “thalidomide scare”. Thalidomide was used to relieve morning sickness experienced during pregnancy. This scare caused scientists to realize that certain types of drugs given during pregnancy, affected the development of the fetus. It wasn’t until 1973, when two pediatricians, David Smith and Kenneth Jones, whom specialized in dysmorphology, the study of abnormalities present at birth, published their article on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. In their study, they examined eight children to determine what caused their developmental impediments. These children were characterized with growth deficiencies, microcephaly, and impaired cognitive development. All their mothers were alcoholics, which resulted in Smith and Jones to believe alcohol was causing defects in the offspring [2].

Thalidomide was a drug created for pregnant women in 1957.It was first introduced on the market in west Germany on October 1, 1957. It was created to help combat symptoms associated with women 's morning sickness, but it caused more harm than good. It created a worldwide epidemic. It was created as a harmless sleeping pill. Thalidomide created many birth defects affecting 10,000 children worldwide like phocomelia and Amelia . Thalidomide could be bought without a prescription from the doctor in west Germany. Thalidomide was put in other markets like in the United Kingdom. Thalidomide is now a clinically effective and strictly restricted drug and treats leprosy and multiple myeloma.

As I have mentioned, inhaled nitric oxide, epoprostenol, iloprost, and sildenafil are the common treatment for pulmonary hypertension that I would encounter in the hospital where I am currently employed. Nitric oxide and iloprost are administered through inhalation, epoprostenol by continuous intravenous infusion, and sildenafil is taken orally. The main advantage of inhaled route for the treatment of PH is the direct delivery of drug to the target organ thus, reducing the systemic side effects (Hill, Preston, & Roberts, 2015). It also improves the gas exchange by dilating the vessels supplying the ventilated areas (Hill et al., 2015).

Thalidomide is a drug that was invented in Germany in the 1950’s. It was originally intended to treat respiratory infections but during testing, it was noted that the drug worked to relieve morning sickness for pregnant women. This new reason allowed the drug to be prescribed to many new patients all over the world. Eventually Thalidomide was discovered to be causing birth defects in all of the pregnant women that were taking it. It caused the fetus to not develop correctly by causing limbs of the body or ears to develop improperly or not develop at all. It also cause spinal cord and digestive system defects as well as problems to the heart and kidneys. Thalidomide stopped being prescribed but not before many children and families were affected worldwide who had taken the drug. It took a couple of years before other countries caught up to realize that thalidomide was causing the birth defects and removed from being an over the counter drug in many countries. It wasn’t until 1961 that it was completely removed after it was confirmed that it was causing birth defects. More than 10000 babies were born with defects and approximately killed 2000 before birth, but fewer than 100 were born here in the U.S.

Thalidomide, a dangerous and extremely harmful teratogen, is one that has harmed children all over the world. Despite the fact that the US banned the chemical before it could be too widely distributed, it still affected thousands of families here that continue to live with the consequences today. Although Thalidomide is still used to successfully treat a variety of diseases and disorders, its history of unethical use resulting in the harm of thousands of fetuses should not be forgotten.

However, when the drug was released, it caused horrible birth defects to numerous babies, mainly in Continental Europe and affected many families.

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States today. Fortunately, due to advanced technology and research about this disorder and its effects on the brain, there are many different kinds of medication to help treat those who are depressed. One of these medications includes Amitriptyline.

Thalidomide was a drug made to treat many different health problems and is now known as one of the worst teratogens in history. Thalidomide is most well-known to help with morning sickness in pregnant women, but that’s not what its original purpose was. The original purpose of thalidomide was to use for respiratory problems. Another use of thalidomide that was practiced was to “provide a safe sound sleep” (Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada, n.d.). Overall thalidomide was used as a sedative and was a wonder drug, because it helped many problems. The problems that thalidomide caused were on a global scale. Thalidomide was an over- the- counter drug for multiple countries across the world. In most countries thalidomide was prescribed by a doctor in a certain dose. Some countries that used Thalidomide include Canada, Germany, UK, and Brazil. Including these, Thalidomide was used in about 30 other countries, and effected them on different scales. The problems that thalidomide was originally intended to fix, could have been fixed many other, safer ways. For morning sickness, there are hundreds of safe home remedies, instead of taking Thalidomide. For respiratory problems, you can take an inhaler, or have an oxygen mask. Also, for sleeping problems, there are multiple home remedies. You can take melatonin, which relaxes you, and can naturally be found in the body. A German pharmaceutical company, Grunenthal, was the first to start

A teratogen is defined as “A drug or other substance capable of interfering with the development of a fetus, causing birth defects” (Teratogen). In this essay I will be introducing the harms of teratogens and elaborating on a few of them. Although teratogens is a very general term and envelopes a lot, I will be discussing three specific types of teratogens that are very harmful for the fetus. The three main topics of this essay will be: Drugs, Alcohol, and Infectious diseases. Hopefully, this essay will expose the harmful consequences of the use of teratogens.

chemicals. Many women, who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent miscarriages, increased the risk for breat cancer in their children.

Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant displays a wide array of biological properties including several psychiatric disorders and neuropathic pain. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) mediate their therapeutic effect by inhibiting the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine, leaving more neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft stimulating the

Thalidomide was first introduced by German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal in late 1950s, and was marketed as a sedative and a treatment for morning sickness in pregnancy. It soon became very popular among pregnant women, but only until they started noticing its disturbing side effect. In 1962, it was discovered that the thalidomide taken during the first trimester of pregnancy caused the reduction deformities of the limbs of fetus as well as visceral, facial, spinal, and other birth defects (Sherman, M., & Strauss, S., 1986). Germany and some other countries immediately withdrew the drug, but the damage was already done. More than 10,000 babies were born with or died from severe deformities (Emanuel, Rawlins, Duff, &

Teratogenesis is a medical term. It refers to various malformations of embryo & fetus. It entails wide array of deformity in various organs of the body ranging from slightest anomaly to complete absence. Approximately 3% of all babies may born with signifcant cosmetic or functional deformity . In the year 2010, Teratogenesis alone was responsible for 510,000 deaths around the globe . The causes of teratogenesis is also widely varied. Most important reasons are genetic disorders, low nutrients , environmental toxins, vertically transmitted infection and various pregnancy drugs. Thalidomide is an example of drug that if used during pregnancy leads to various congenital malformation in embryo and fetus. Thalidomide was introduced into marketplace