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Feet of a baby born to a mother who had taken thalidomide while pregnant. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the use of thalidomide in 46 countries was prescribed to women who were pregnant or who subsequently became pregnant, and consequently resulted in the "biggest anthropogenic medical disaster ever," with more than 10,000 children born with a range of severe deformities, such as ...
Thalidomide has several adverse cardiovascular effects, including risk of heart attacks, pulmonary hypertension, and changes in heart rhythm, such as syncope, bradycardia, and atrioventricular block. [14] [15] Thalidomide can cause liver damage and severe skin reactions like Stevens–Johnson syndrome. It tends to make people sleepy, which ...
Adverse effects by frequency: [1] [2] Note that teratogenicity is not discussed here as it is not considered a side effect. For information regarding birth defects, see thalidomide .
McBride published a letter in The Lancet, in December 1961, noting a large number of birth defects in children of patients who were prescribed thalidomide, [9] after a midwife named Sister Pat Sparrow first suspected the drug was causing birth defects in the babies of patients under his care at Crown Street Women's Hospital in Sydney. [10]
Other effects also seen with thalidomide exposure included deformed eyes and hearts, deformed alimentary and urinary tracts, blindness and deafness. [5] The thalidomide tragedy marked a turning point in toxicity testing, as it prompted United States and international regulatory agencies to develop systematic toxicity testing protocol.
As director of the Krefeld Children's Hospital, Wiedemann was one of the first to recognise the fatal side effects of thalidomide. While initially considered safe, thalidomide was responsible for teratogenic deformities in children born after their mothers used it during pregnancies, prior to the third trimester. In November 1961, thalidomide ...
Phocomelia is a congenital condition that involves malformations of human arms and legs which result in a flipper-like appendage. [1] [2] A prominent cause of phocomelia is the mother being prescribed the use of the drug thalidomide during pregnancy; however, the causes of most cases are to be determined.
In the 1960s, it became apparent that thalidomide altered embryo development and led to limb deformities such as thumb absence, underdevelopment of entire limbs, or phocomelia. [36] Thalidomide may have caused teratogenic effects in over 10,000 babies worldwide. [37] [38]