THALIDOMIDE TRAGEDY

WHAT IS MEAN BY THALIDOMIDE TRAGEDY?

• Thalidomide was launched in 1957 by a German company. At earlier times, thalidomide was used as sedative drug. Later on someone discovered that thalidomide also used to cure nausea (morning sickness) in pregnant women.

• Then the medicine began to prescribe for pregnant women to treat morning sickness and causes Phocomelia.

• Phocomelia means thalidomide taken pregnant women’s babies were born with shortened or completely absent limbs.

• This drug can cause baby’s hands and feet to be differently formed. It also causes eye defects, shortened or malformed kidney along with limbs.  

• So later on Thalidomide banned in 1962. After so many years in 2006, US FDA made reentry of the drug for usage.

Significance of thalidomide DRUG?

    Thalidomide is used as a substance which suppresses or modulates the body immune system. It is used for the treatment of skin sores which has been caused by erythema nodosum leprosum. Thalidomide also used along with dexamethasone to treat multiple myeloma.

HOW IT WORKS :

• It is involved in the acetylation of organic compounds.

• Biogenesis of ascorbic acid.

• cytokine synthesis can be altered by thalidomide.

• Folic acid friction.

• Synthesis of DNA can be inhibited.

• Oxidation of DNA.

• It can be involved in intrusion of glutamate chondrogenesis.

• Involved in computation of DNA.

• It represses ontogenesis.

• Chemical bonding with cereblon which is a protein present on human chromosome 3.

 

Formula: C13H10N2O4

Side effects :

 Side effects of thalidomide are drowsiness, confusion, anxiety, depression, back pain, somnolence, fatigue, peripheral neuropathy and skin rash. 

Adverse effects :

Adverse effects for thalidomide are 

• Teratogenicity- formation of embryo with defects.

• Constipation-  irregular bowel movements nd difficulty in     passage of stools.

• Sedation- a calm state or sedation due to drug

• Fatigue- exhausion or tiredness

• Neuropathy-occurance of damage of neurons may be due to group of diseases.

Common toxicities were shown by taking thalidomide:

FUTURE CHALLENGES:

✓ Influence of thalidomide is much more on shaping the pharmaceutical industry as we know it today.

✓ Thalidomide tragedy became lesson to everyone and many preventive measures have been taken after the tragedy.

✓ By taking thalidomide as the reference,withdrawal of the drug from market can be done by considering the parameters like development of drugs, testing of drugs, regulatory authorities and pharamcovigilance.

✓ Yet few of challenges still exist like understanding the molecular targets, sequence of events resulting thalidomide embryopathy.

✓ Drug action on different pathways, understanding how to modulate these for the patient benefit to make safer remains an important goal.

                                                                                   BY:                                                                    SPANDANA TALLA                                              PHARM D

MNR COLLEGE OF PHARMACY.