A synthetic drug given to pregnant women for morning sickness in the 1960s which caused babies to be born with stunted limbs. It is now used in the treatment of leprosy.
Sedative drug, no longer used because of its teratogenic properties when taken during pregnancy.
A drug originally prescribed to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages and linked to phocomelia. Still in use in some countries for treatment of other medical conditions.
A drug used to treat skin sores associated with leprosy. Thalidomide (Thalomid) is a powerful drug that affects the immune system in ways that are not completely understood. It is used with other drugs to treat and prevent disfiguring skin sores associated with a complication of leprosy, called erythema nodosum leprosum.
A drug that was formerly used as a sedative. If taken during the first three months of pregnancy, it was found to cause fetal abnormalities involving limb malformation; i.e. it has a teratogenic effect. For this reason thalidomide has now been withdrawn from clinical use.
A sedative and hypnotic drug long withdrawn from the market (except for certain types of leprosy) because it causes teratogenesis. If taken during the first trimester of pregnancy it may cause an unusual limb deformity in the fetus known as phocomelia (‘seal’ or ‘flipper’ extremities).
A sedative/hypnotic drug that was removed from the market when it was discovered to be the cause of severe birth defects (malformations of the limbs of exposed fetuses). It has been found to be useful in treating erythema nodosum leprosum, multiple myeloma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, and several other cancers, and skin and immunological diseases.
A medication that was removed from use in the UK in 1961 due to its association with limb abnormalities in numerous babies born to women who had taken the drug during pregnancy. Thalidomide is currently utilized for treating specific cases of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) and Behçet’s syndrome.