1.What is Thalidomide? When did the first drug appear on the market? What was its original purpose? Thalidomide was originally used as a sedative to treat anxiety, tension, gastritis and insomnia. Thalidomide was also commonly used by pregnant women to treat their morning sickness. However, thalidomide was found to cause deformity in children born to mothers who took the drug and it was withdrawn in the UK during the early 1960s. The first drug appeared on the market was during 1957 in West Germany. It was marketed under the brand name; Contergan. After that,Thalidomide became an over-the-counter drug in West Germany during 1st October 1957. 5,000 to 7,000 infants were born with phocomelia (malformation of the limbs) shortly after the pregnant mother who consume Thalidomide gave birth. Thalidomide caused birth defects across more than 46 countries and affected over 10,000 babies. The affected babies were born with abnormal limbs, feet or hands. Other defects included abnormal or absent ears, heart and kidney problems, cleft palate, spinal cord defects and digestive system disorders. 2. What was there about …show more content…
The structure of thalidomide is similar to that of the DNA purine bases adenine (A) and guanine (G). In solution, thalidomide binds more readily to guanine than to adenine, and has almost has no affinity for the other nucleotides, cytosine (C) and thymine (T). Furthermore, thalidomide can intercalate into DNA, presumably at G-rich sites. Data from DeitherNeubert's group at the FreieUniversität, Berlin, shows that thalidomide sedates the production of proteins called integrins. The specific integrin alpha v beta 3 is critical in one specific pathway for