Thalidomide is a sedative, hypnotic medication.
Thalidomide was developed by German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal. It was sold from 1957 to 1961 in almost 50 countries under at least 40 names, including Distaval, Talimol, Nibrol, Sedimide, Quietoplex, Contergan, Neurosedyn, and Softenon.
Thalidomide was chiefly sold and prescribed during the late 1950s and early 1960s to pregnant women, as an antiemetic to combat morning sickness and as an aid to help them sleep.
Before its release inadequate tests were performed to assess the drug's safety, with catastrophic results for the children of women who had taken thalidomide during their pregnancies.
From 1956 to 1962, approximately 10,000 children were born with severe malformities, including phocomelia (gacmo la'aan), because their mothers had taken thalidomide during pregnancy.
In 1962, in reaction to the tragedy, the United States Congress enacted laws requiring tests for safety during pregnancy before a drug can receive approval for sale in the U.S.
Other countries enacted similar legislation, and thalidomide was not prescribed or sold for decades.
Today the drug appeard in Lancet, this week's edition saying: If an elderly multiple myeloma patient receives thalidomide on top of his/her chemotherapy treatment of melphalan plus prednisone his/her survival improves substantially.
For over four decades combination chemotherapy with melphalan and prednisone (MP) has been given to patients with multiple myeloma -it is still the most commonly accepted treatment option for older patients who cannot be given higher dose therapy.
Real Pharmacist
