Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay
Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay
Thalidomide was introduced in the market in the mid 20th century in certain counties in Europe. The drug was highly promoted to an extent that it was even given the label of “safe hypnotic” and it was also prescribed for expecting mothers. Within a year links between the drug and a pathological condition of the nervous system were reported in which the patients became paralyzed and had a loss of their sensory nervous functioning. Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay But this association was highly denied by the pharmaceutical companies whose sales boosted to as high as one hundred thousand preparations in Western Germany per day (Dale et al 1999). Within ten years after the drug was in the market, the occurrence of a congenital condition known as phocomelia increased to alarming levels. In this pathology, the infants did not undergo proper development and presented with short limbs or there was no development of the limbs at all. In the ten years before the introduction of the drug, there were no cases of infants suffering from this condition. But after this duration within the period of 1959 to 1961 the number of reported 154. In 1961, a child specialist found out the link between thalidomide and the pathology. It was then that a link between the drug and the condition started to become realized and it was understood that the disease acted as a teratogen. This drug was also related to other visceral defects in infants who developed phocomelia (Pratt et al 1990). This drug was then banned from use in the year of 1961 and the effects brought about by the drug were labeled as a catastrophe of thalidomide because by the time it was withdrawn from the market, there were already ten thousand infants who were suffering from this crippling condition. The drug was responsible for the production of different effects depending upon the time of pregnancy when it was ingested and the time when the fetus came into contact with the toxic substance. If the intake was on the twenty-first or twenty-second day, it resulted in developmental defects in the ears and affected the cranial nerves of the nervous system as well.Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay.
# The drug was first introduced in the Europe. Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women to try and combat morning sickness.
That is what scientists are trying to find out.
# After seeing the risks involved with Thalidomide, from birth defects to possible nerve damage, you might be asking yourself why anyone would ever consider taking such a drug. The answer to that question is that they would consider the drug as a last hope, or to prolong or add comfort in their final days. When a person is given no hope for a cure, any possibility becomes what could be the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. In some situations, conception is the last ting on their mind, so the possibility of birth defects is out of the question. Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay.
# Researches have found that Thalidomide can inhibit the growth of HIV in test tubes. (aegis, 2002) This is a glimmer of hope to a hopeless disease. Other benefits an HIV patient could get from Thalidomide are treatment of mouth ulcers and chronic wasting, two of the most debilitating symptoms of the disease. Trails for the drug have been limited and research is still in its early stages. Thalidomide is, by no means a cure for HIV or Aids, but it is, at this point, a very hopeful treatment.
# Imagine being a parent of a child with a life threatening form of cancer. The doctors have just told you your little girl has only six weeks to live. You start doing the things you think a parent on your situation should do, spending a much time as possible with your child. In your frantic search for a glimmer of hope in this, your darkest time, you come across
# The drug was first introduced in the Europe. Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women to try and combat morning sickness. Thalidomide was also used as a sleep enhancer in other patients. It was not until 1961 that the drug was linked to the horrific malformations such as babies being born with flipper like limbs. It was also blamed for other birth defects effecting the eyes, ears, heart, genitals, kidneys, nervous system and digestive tract. The possibilities of subjecting more babies and their families to the effects of Thalidomide has many people upset about the idea that it may be coming back on the market. Just one dose of the drug to an unborn baby can cause dire effects. It takes a very small amount to cause any one of the serious problems listed above.
# Thalidomide was never produced or distributed in the United States, but a handful of “Thalidomide babies” were born to American families. Seven thousand to twelve thousand babies were born with defects due to Thalidomide in other parts of the world, including Europe and Canada. (Snider, 1995) As a result of the numerous problems with the drug, the FDA has created new guidelines for preclinical animal test to learn if a new compound causes birth defects before it ever enters humans. (Brown, 1997) Teratogenic, or birth defect causing, drugs are normally yanked off the market way before studies have been done to see if they have any other applications. The views of the pharmaceutical world are that nothing can be gained from a drug that causes life altering birth defects. Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay.
# Now, years later, Thalidomide has been given a chance to redeem itself. Early research has shown that the drug has been effective in treating a variety of ailments such as leprosy, tuberculoses, HIV, arthritis, and even can…
…me it horrific past and be made available for the possible good it may perform? Can the world accept the fact that people may have no other options to continue living than to take a drug that caused so much suffering in the past? Many people’s lives, and quality of life, may depend on these questions. The key to the distribution of Thalidomide is control. If the FDA can monitor and regulate the drug, ensuring no more babies will be born suffering the defects caused by the drug Thalidomide, hundreds of thousands of people many are able to live longer, healthier lives. Therapeutic Effects of Thalidomide Essay.
