Thalidomide In The 1950's

85 Words1 Pages
Many medicines are mixtures of enantiomers. In the 1950s a new drug called thalidomide was introduced very successfully as a sedative. Doctors noticed that when it was prescribed to pregnat women, it eased the symptoms of morning sickness,, and so they used it in early pregnancy. However, by the late 1950s and through the 1960s, 12000 their limbs simply did not grow propely. Eventially it was realised that the cause of the problem was thalidomide the drug was affecting the foetuses of the pregnant