Solving the 50-Year-Old Puzzle of Thalidomide Nov 21, 2009
20, 2009) Research into the controversial drug thalidomide reveals that the mechanism through which the drug causes limb defects is the same process which causes it to damage internal organs and other tissues. The article, published in Bio-Essays, outlines the challenges surrounding thalidomide research and claims that confirmation of a 'common mechanism' could lead to new treatments for Leprosy, Crohn's Disease, AIDS and some forms of cancer ... Thalidomide was used in over 46 countries... (Science Daily)
Coming Soon to British TV: Survivor, the Disabled Version Nov 17, 2009
" Each episode focuses on a different contestant. There's Will, a man long on bitterness and like many of the children of mothers who were prescribed Thalidomide to prevent morning sickness short of limb. The character is brought to the screen by Mat Fraser, a performer so determined to transcend his disability that he became a rock drummer before turning to acting. April, a research scientist suffering from cherubism, a condition that causes severe facial disfigurement, is played by first-time... (Time.com)
Drug's victims want more support Nov 17, 2009
More than 30 people in Wales are living with the effects of the Thalidomide drug, 50 years after its introduction caused terrible birth defects ... The 450 survivors get an average annual income of 18,000 from the Thalidomide Trust. (BBC News -- UK)
Puff of smoke Nov 6, 2009
However, it was not until the Thalidomide scandal in 1961, which led to the Medicines Act of 1968 and the Trade Descriptions Act of the same year, that there was a clear statutory improvement in consumer rights. The carbolic smoke ball case helped ordinary people to fight big companies. (BBC News -- UK)
Antibiotic Use During Pregnancy And Birth Defects: Study Examines Associations Nov 4, 2009
11, 2008) Scientists in Germany have discovered why the medication thalidomide appeared safe in animal tests before going on the market 50 years ago, only to cause perhaps the most extensive outbreak of. . (Science Daily)
Childbirth Is Not Burger King. You Cant Always Have It Your Way. Oct 20, 2009
For some reason, no one thinks to research birth interventions until after the fact when mothers and children have been harmed, or worse- killed (thalidomide. cytotec. (Slate)
High-tech cancer drugs send PBS costs soaring Oct 10, 2009
The cost of treating each patient for the bone marrow disease multiple myeloma with thalidomide derivative Revlimid is expected average about $6500 a month, which means it is likely to become Australia's most expensive publicly-funded cancer drug. People could expect, on average, an 11-month extension of reasonable quality life, said the acting Health Minister, Justine Elliot, announcing the decision to fund the drug via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Pregnant women bare arms for H1N1 vaccine Sep 22, 2009
Blame thalidomide for the nervousness about vaccines and medications in pregnancy ... Although the Food and Drug Administration never approved thalidomide to treat morning sickness in the USA, the drug galvanized debate about the wisdom of pregnant women taking any kind of medication. (USA Today)
LETTER: Lengthy testing can add to cost of medicines Sep 5, 2009
father bob wrote on Sep 4, 2009 11:48 AM:" mr miller.....guess you don't remember the "thalidomide" babies??? ". Most commented. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
LETTER: Health care, not just insurance, cost is high Sep 3, 2009
The thalidomide she takes didn t cost over 10 per month when it was banned 40 years ago. Now that it is classified as a cancer drug, the retail price for a month s supply is over 16,000. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
A $2.3 billion fine? Thats hitting a mule with a 24 Sep 3, 2009
Let s get the pitable drug companies to bring back thalidomide and Vioxx by FPhFizxer ... Thalidomide was produced as a drug in GERMANY. FDA (that s American) refused to approve of its sale in the USA. Only 17 American women out of thousands of women were affected (Probably got their drugs overseas. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Molecules Wrestle For Supremacy In Creation Of Superstructures Aug 19, 2009
Chirality leads to profound differences in the way a molecule functions for example, drugs such as thalidomide can have positive effects on a patient but can prove harmful in their mirror image form. Molecules can also assemble in large numbers and form 'superstructures' such as snowflakes which are created from large numbers of water molecules. (Science Daily)
Individuals should avoid man-made drugs Aug 4, 2009
The effect of Thalidomide is a case in point. Vioxx is another. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
UK families win fight over birth defects Jul 30, 2009
Lawyers said the Corby case was the biggest child poisoning case since the thalidomide scandal in the 1960s, the Telegraph reported. Thalidomide, a tranquilliser given to pregnant women as a cure for morning sickness, was hailed as a wonder drug after it went on the market in 1958. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Cancer experts welcome pill for disease Jul 27, 2009
"It also doesn't have the same difficult side effects of other drugs such as thalidomide," he told AAP.. "Hundreds of Australian patients have been using it for four-to-five years through 'compassionate access' and many have their diseases under control. "This is a very exciting time to be in the field. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Thalidomide Does Not Improve Survival In Small Cell Lung Cancer, Study Finds Jul 21, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 20, 2009) Treating patients with thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) did not improve their survival but did increase their risk of blood clots, according to a new study published online July 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute ... Siow Ming Lee, M.D., of the Department of Oncology, University Hospital in London, and colleagues randomly assigned 724 SCLC patients to take either a placebo or thalidomide ... Used in... (Science Daily)
Octuplets' hospital privacy fine Jul 18, 2009
Page last updated at 10:06 GMT, Friday, 17 July 2009 11:06 UK. Suleman has attracted criticism. (BBC News -- Americas)
Bullied City lawyer claiming 12m Jul 18, 2009
Page last updated at 16:25 GMT, Friday, 17 July 2009 17:25 UK. Bullied City lawyer claiming 12m. (BBC News -- Business)
Obama's South Asia challenges Jul 18, 2009
Page last updated at 12:40 GMT, Monday, 10 November 2008. Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid says US President-elect Barack Obama will face some of his trickiest foreign policy challenges in South Asia. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Hopes Dashed for Thalidomide as Lung Cancer Treatment Jul 18, 2009
THURSDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Using the drug thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy won't improve survival for patients with small cell lung cancer but does increase their risk of blood clots, an English study finds. For the study, 724 patients were randomly assigned to take a placebo or thalidomide, which suppresses angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels that tumors need to survive and grow ... The patients took 100 to 200 milligrams a day of thalidomide or the placebo... (MEDLINEplus)
Thalidomide lung cancer 'failure' Jul 17, 2009
Thalidomide lung cancer 'failure ... Controversial drug thalidomide does not improve survival for lung cancer patients, UK scientists say ... Thalidomide is an anti-angiogenic drug. (BBC News -- Health)
Family history Jul 13, 2009
Children may also have an increased risk if they are exposed in the womb to certain drugs such as thalidomide, valproic acid or cocaine or to infectious diseases such as rubella, Toth says. Recent studies also have found that babies born prematurely have higher risks of autism. (USA Today)
Senior Subjects: Chemical dependency Jun 26, 2009
As I wrote in a column two weeks ago, the world found out about thalidomide when deformed babies began to be born to mothers who took the drug to prevent morning sickness during pregnancy. We mustn t let BPA become the new thalidomide. (Lincoln Journal, MA)
Sweetness and Spite Jun 25, 2009
Imitating Plath s Thalidomide or Sexton s Menstruation at Forty requires no discernible talent save the purest, most unembarrassable exhibitionism: any number can play. Such exhibitionism signified Whitman s posthumous triumph. (The American Conservative)
Study suggests drug is safe for morning sickness Jun 20, 2009
Thalidomide, used in Europe and Canada in the 1960s, caused missing or shortened limbs. The maker of another drug, Bendectin, pulled it from the market in 1983 after widely publicized lawsuits alleged it caused limb deformities. (Chippewa Falls Chippewa Herald, WI)
Senior Subjects: Chemical imbalance at the FDA Jun 16, 2009
Let s detour here, to another chemical actually a drug, called thalidomide, proposed as an anti- seizure drug. The harrowing story of thalidomide is well told in many articles, such as The Right Lesson to Learn from Thalidomide, or Thalidomide Lessons from the Past ... Thalidomide didn t prove effective as an anti-seizure remedy. (Lincoln Journal, MA)
Regulatory roulette Jun 3, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration, for example, has bolstered its legitimacy for half a century by having moved so slowly in 1957-60 that it never got around to legalizing thalidomide, which caused birth defects when given to pregnant women. Since its "success" in that case, the. (Asia Times Online)
Immunomedics Reports Updated Results of Milatuzumab in Dose-Escalation Study for Multiple Myeloma May 31, 2009
Most patients had at least 4 prior treatments that included bortezomib, lenalidomide, melphalan and thalidomide. At the time of reporting, 24 patients have received milatuzumab, twice weekly, at 1 of 4 dose levels: 1. (Primezone Releases)
Scientists offer thalidomide clue May 12, 2009
Mothers took thalidomide to relieve their morning sickness. Scientists claim they have finally worked out how and why the drug thalidomide caused limb defects in thousands of babies ... We have put to rest a 50-year puzzle, in finally deducing how thalidomide triggers limb defects and why it appears to target limbs preferentially. (BBC News -- Science)
describes two studies May 9, 2009
When you look at compounds like thalidomide, that have low potency in multiple targets but somehow work in the clinic, you realize that we definitely don't know a lot about cancers. CMC guy on May 7, 2009 10:57 PM writes. (Slate)
New Treatment Shows Promise Against Recurrent Gynecologic Cancers Apr 29, 2009
29, 2008) Thalidomide, a drug blamed in the 1950s for causing birth defects, is now showing promise as a safe and effective treatment for women with recurrent ovarian cancer, according to a new. (Sep. (Science Daily)
'Two-handed' Marine Microbes Point To New Method For Isolating Harmful Forms Of Chemicals Apr 17, 2009
One of the best-known instances of a chiral molecule causing widespread harm occurred in the 1950s, when the drug thalidomide was given to pregnant women to prevent morning sickness. One naturally occurring form--or isomer--of thalidomide reduces nausea; the other causes birth defects. (Science Daily)
'Why, mummy...' Feb 25, 2009
I was at school with a thalidomide victim. No-one questioned, we just accepted that her right arm ended at the elbow - I certainly can't remember anyone being scared or put off - and no parents made anything of it. (BBC News -- UK)
[U.K.] DAILY MAIL Feb 8, 2009
Thalidomide was developed by the Nazis and tested on prisoners at concentration camps, it has been claimed. THE BEST OF THE WEB - DIGESTED. (The Drudge Report)
Thalidomide 'was developed by Nazis' Feb 8, 2009
Thalidomide 'was developed by the Nazis'-Science-Health & Science-The Times of India ... Thalidomide 'was developed by the Nazis'9 Feb 2009, 1121 hrs IST, PTI ... LONDON: Thalidomide, the morning sickness drug which caused many women to give birth to deformed babies, was first developed by the Nazis under Adolf Hitler as part of their chemical weapons programme, according to a new study. (India Times, India)
