Thalidomide Research Paper

Thalidomide was a pharmaceutical sedative and birth control that was distributed primarily during the 1960’s. It was first developed by the company, Grünenthal, based in Stolberg near Aachen, Germany. In the early 1950’s, thalidomide was first clinically tested and later sold to treat respiratory infections. During this time, it was advertised as “Grippex”, containing ingredients such as acetylsalicylic acid and quinine (Mandal, 2015). During these clinical trials, the scientists behind the development of thalidomide determines that it was “practically impossible” to receive an overdose of the drug. It was soon being sold over the counter, no prescription needed, to millions of Europeans, and began to sweep across the United States in 1960.

However, regardless of the outcome, thalidomide is proven to affect our health. In the 1960’s, thalidomide was one of the most dangerous pharmaceuticals on the market. It started off as a drug, prescribed to mothers experiencing mild or severe morning sickness as a result of their pregnancies. It was later discovered by toxicologists that thalidomide was a teratogen. The most common effect of thalidomide to the embryos was peripheral neuropathy (See figure 3). This is a disorder is the result of damage to your peripheral nerves, and often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in one’s hands and feet (Mayo Clinic, 2017). Peter G. Wells, a scientist who specializes in toxicology concluded from his extensive research on thalidomide that the reason it causes birth defects, including peripheral neuropathy, is because is breaks down. He discovered that once a small dose of thalidomide has been ingested, it breaks down into many different compounds, which last approximately 40 times longer than thalidomide itself. These compounds ultimately lead to the production of highly toxic forms of oxygen, called "reactive oxygen species," (ROS) including hydrogen peroxide and free radicals that alter disrupt normal embryonic development, causing birth defects (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2011). Thalidomide negatively impacted a mother's health because it invades the embryo and causes mutations to the genes of the limbs. Thalidomide is also a neurotoxin because peripheral neuropathy causes severe pain and stabbing sensations that are altered signals from the brain to the limbs, causes by the compounds that break down from the initial