What are the harmful side effects of the chiral drug thalidomide?

Regardless of whether one or both enantiomers are involved, taking thalidomide by pregnant women caused severe birth defects including abnormal (missing) limbs, as well as ear, eye, heart and gastrointestinal problems in 10,000 babies born.

What enantiomer of thalidomide caused deformities in developing babies?

The (R)-enantiomer is an effective sedative medication and the (S)-enantiomer may be teratogenic. (S)-Thalidomide was shown to be responsible for over 2000 cases of birth defects in children born to women who took the drug during pregnancy (Figure 6) (see Chapters 1.4 and 1.8).

What are the side effects of thalidomide?

Thalidomide may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• drowsiness.
• confusion.
• anxiety.
• depression or mood changes.
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
• bone, muscle, joint, or back pain.
• weakness.
• headache.

Why can thalidomide have optical isomers?

Thalidomide has just one chiral atom and so exists as two enantiomers. since moving around from the chiral centre the order of atoms is different each way. It is said the chiral atom has two different views around the ring.

Are thalidomide babies still alive?

Limbs can fail to develop properly, in some cases also eyes, ears and internal organs. No-one knows how many miscarriages the drug caused, but it’s estimated that, in Germany alone, 10,000 babies were born affected by Thalidomide. Many were too damaged to survive for long. Today, fewer than 3,000 are still alive.

What went wrong with thalidomide?

The degradation of SALL4 interferes with limb development and other aspects of fetal growth. The result is the spectrum of complications indelibly linked to thalidomide: the deformed limbs and defective organs in children whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy as a treatment for morning sickness.

Why do and thalidomide have different effects on the body?

Thalidomide exists in two mirror-image forms: it is a racemic mixture of (R)- and (S)-enantiomers. The (R)-enantiomer, shown in the figure, has sedative effects, whereas the (S)-isomer is teratogenic. Under biological conditions, the isomers interconvert, so separating the isomers before use is ineffective.

Did thalidomide affect all babies?

Estimates of how many American babies were affected by thalidomide have varied. A lead F.D.A. investigator said in a 1964 report that 17 infants had been harmed. Investigators in the agency’s Cincinnati office later pursued reports of about 40 births associated with one obstetrician, Dr.

Which one is the effect of thalidomide teratogenicity?

Teratogenicity is the most severe and well-known adverse effect associated with thalidomide. Babies born with malformations such as amelia, phocomelia, bone hypoplasia and absence of bones resulted from the thalidomide tragedy.

Was thalidomide tested on animals?

Thalidomide had passed safety tests performed on animals. In some tests, dosages of over 600 times the normal human dosage had no effect at all on rodents. On further investigation it was found that more extensive tests into the drug had not been carried out.

Who discovered thalidomide?

Thalidomide was developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company CIBA in 1953 and then was introduced by the German pharmaceutical company Chemi Grunenthal in 1956 [Rajkumar, 2004].

What is a flipper baby?

The word “phocomelia” means seal limb. It describes an extremely rare condition in which babies are born with limbs that look like flippers. The long bones of the arms fail to develop, but fingers sometimes sprout from the shoulders. In some cases, the legs fail to develop, too.

What are the isomers of thalidomide?

There are two isomers of thalidomide (R and S). The R-isomer is the one responsible for the sedative effects, the S-isomer is the culprit for the birth defects and has teratogenic effects.

How did the thalidomide disaster affect the world?

The thalidomide disaster caused many countries to tighten drug approval regulations. Thalidomide exists in two mirror-image forms: it is a racemic mixture of ( R )- and ( S )-enantiomers. The ( R )-enantiomer, shown in the figure, has sedative effects, whereas the ( S )-isomer is teratogenic.

What is the Dark Side of thalidomide?

In 1960 the dark side of thalidomide started to become apparent. Women who were pregnant and took thalidomide had babies with terrible defects – ill-formed limbs, missing limbs, and/or mental illness. The drug was withdrawn in 1961. There are two isomers of thalidomide (R and S).

Is thalidomide a racemic mixture?

Thalidomide exists in two mirror-image forms: it is a racemic mixture of (R)- and (S)-enantiomers. The (R)-enantiomer, shown in the figure, has sedative effects, whereas the (S)-isomer is teratogenic. Under biological conditions, the isomers interconvert, so separating the isomers before use is ineffective.