Thalidomide regulates the immune response by suppressing a protein, tumor necrosis factor alpha.
Yes - there are thousands of deformed people as proof of the Thalidomide trials ! The drug Thalidomide was initially marketed as a cure for 'morning sickness' associated with early pregnancy. HOWEVER - the drug also caused deformities in the developing embryos, resulting in mental an physical abnormalities. There was a huge legal battle to get the makers of Thalidomide to accept responsibility for the flaw in their product. See the related link to Wikipedia for a detailed article on the drug - and its consequences.
Thalidomide
Thalidomide Steroids
Thalidomide.
Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival as a Vital Medicine by Rock Brynner and Trent D. Stephens Suffer the Children: The Story of Thalidomide Tough Cookie: The Less Than Virtuous Tale of a Thalidomide Mum by Sheila Mottley Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies (A Penguin special) by Robert Nilsson and Henning Sjostrom Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival as a Vital Medicineby Rock Brynner and Trent D. Stephens Suffer the Children: The Story of Thalidomide Tough Cookie: The Less Than Virtuous Tale of a Thalidomide Mum by Sheila Mottley Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies (A Penguin special) by Robert Nilsson and Henning Sjostrom
Any drug that will kill you if taken in excess. This includes most drugs, even aspirin. A non-lethal drug would be Thalidomide. One person attempting suicide by Thalidomide woke-up a month later with a head-ache. Interestingly pregnant women taking Thalidomide will have severely deformed children - so its a complex situation.
Because that is the purpose of a drug company, to make money from the drugs they manufacture
Thalidomide was banned in most countries in the early 1960s after it was linked to severe birth defects when taken by pregnant women. The drug was initially introduced in the late 1950s as a sedative and treatment for morning sickness but was withdrawn from the market in 1961 following widespread reports of its harmful effects. Regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), imposed strict regulations on drug testing and approval processes as a result of the thalidomide tragedy. Today, thalidomide is still used under strict controls for certain conditions, such as multiple myeloma, but is prohibited for use in pregnant women.
thalidomide
Thalidomide, a drug initially prescribed for morning sickness in pregnant women during the late 1950s and early 1960s, caused severe birth defects in babies, including limb malformations, organ abnormalities, and facial deformities. Known as phocomelia, the most notable effect was the underdevelopment of arms and legs. The tragedy led to stricter regulations on drug testing and approval for pregnant women. Today, thalidomide is used under strict controls for certain conditions, but it remains a poignant reminder of the importance of drug safety.
This occurred due to the fact that the first manufacturer of thalidomide was a German pharmaceutical company - which first sold this drug in October of 1957. This was followed by British approval of the drug. Subsequently, over the next ten years or so, about 2,500 "thalidomide babies" were born in Germany, and about 2,000 in Great Britain. The birth defect is called phocomelia, a shortening of the limbs, in which they appear to look like the flippers on a seal. Also, the FDA did not approve thalidomide in the U.S. (although quite a few tablets found their way to the U.S., despite the FDA ban).
THE FIRST CONTRIBUTOR ARGUED: Thalidomide was man-made by the two inventors called Dr.W.Kunz and Dr.H.Keller. This appalling drug was made in Germany. THIS CONTRIBUTOR CALLS HIMSELF THE SECOND CONTRIBUTOR AND REPLIES: A distinction should be made between the thalidomide drug and the thalidomide scandal. Yes, the thalidomide DRUG was man-made But not necessarily in Germany. It may have been made in the United States of America, France or even the United Kingdom of Northern Ireland and Great Britain. (1) The thalidomide SCANDAL was however government-made. BEFORE 10 APRIL 2010, THE SECOND CONTRIBUTOR KNEW THAT The regulators allowed thalidomide on the market in 1957. At a 30 April - 1 May 1960 Düsseldorf Congress of neurologists, neurologist Dr Ralf Voss warned that thalidomide attacks the nervous system of the mother. The regulators did not do anything and it was up to the manufacturer of thalidomide, Chemie Grünenthal in Stolberg, Aachen, to withdraw thalidomide from the market on 27 November 1961, that's eighteen months after the warning that thalidomide attacks the nervous system of the mother. (2) ON 10 APRIL 2010 On 10 April 2010, the French daily Le Monde reported that thalidomide was withdrawn in December 1961 and that two years before that date, many German doctors warned that thalidomide attacked the nervous system of the mother. (3) This would mean that the thalidomide alarm was raised in December 1959. And the regulators let it on the market until December 1961. That's twenty-four months, right? THE STORY GOES The story goes that a young Canadian-born doctor, named Frances Oldham Kelsey, managed to convince the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to allow thalidomide, known in the USA as "kevadon", into the USA. The problem with this story is that Kelsey was only appointed to the FDA in 1960 (4) and that, oh wonder, the first drug she had to examine at the FDA was ... kevadon. That examination of thalidomide by FDA bureaucrat Kelsey started on 12 September 1960 (4 and 5). That examination thus started after the 30 April - 1 May 1960 Düsseldorf warning. (And the real thalidomide warning was in December 1959, says Le Monde.) THE STORY THEN CONTINUES Dr. Frances Kelsey, then a medical officer with the fledgling Food and Drug Administration, [...] shows immense courage by staunchly refusing to grant permission for the release of the medication in the United States. She does so despite enormous pressure both from her superiors and the American pharmaceutical company that has MILLIONS OF THALIDOMIDE TABLETS READY FOR MASS DISTRIBUTION. But for her, a calamity of unprecedented magnitude, a consequence of, " …gigantic marketing plans…" and an "…absence of scientific discipline…" would have been inevitable. [capitalisation by the second contributor.] (6) The second contributor asks: Did the so-called regulators in the countries where thalidomide had been allowed also have millions of thalidomide tablets ready for mass distribution and does that explain why these so-called regulators NEVER reacted to the December 1959 warning, by removing thalidomide from the market, but let the heroes from Chemie Grünenthal in Stolberg, Aachen take the initiative of that withdrawal in December 1961? CONCLUSION The thalidomide scandal was made by guv'mints to justify or legitimate their welfare states. Or was the drug really woman-made in 1938 by Frances Oldham Kelsey? (7) No distinction should then be made between the thalidomide drug and the thalidomide scandal?