Contemporary Science Issues Lesson 6 New Medicines Starter In

contemporary science issues lesson 6: new medicines starter in groups of four, read over the information and discuss whether anythi

Contemporary Science Issues
Lesson 6: New Medicines
Starter
In groups of four, read over the information and discuss whether
anything else could have been done to prevent the effects of
thalidomide.
Thalidomide was developed in the 1950s as a sleeping pill.
Then it was discovered that it stopped sickness in pregnancy. At the
time, thalidomide seemed safe for adults, so it was assumed that it
was also safe for unborn children. So doctors gave it to pregnant
women to relieve their morning sickness. However, tests on pregnant
animals were not carried out. When the women gave birth, their babies
had severe limb deformities.
I went to the doctor because I suffered from severe morning sickness
while I was pregnant. The doctor told me of thalidomide and how it
could treat my sickness. When he prescribed it for me, I felt
relieved. After taking the medicine, I felt much better and my morning

sickness subsided. Then, when Jack was born, I couldn’t believe my
eyes – he didn’t have arms, just fingers at the end of his shoulders.
His legs were very short too. I didn’t want to touch him. I cried for
days. I didn’t know what had caused the problem at the time.
I knew I was different from the other children as far back as I can
remember. I didn’t know why I was, but mum always told me it was
because I was special. I couldn’t do what the other children could do,
but I learned how to write with my toes. In fact, my toes acted as
fingers for most of the time. When I was older, my mum told me that I
had been born as I was because of thalidomide. It had interfered with
my limb development when I was a foetus. I asked mum why she had taken
the drug. She said that she had taken it to treat her morning
sickness, but knew nothing of the effects it had on limb growth.

In the 1950s, doctors were told that thalidomide could be used as a
sleeping pill and to treat morning sickness. When women came to see me
because they were suffering from morning sickness, I prescribed
thalidomide. At the time, doctors thought thalidomide was safe because
all of the evidence produced by the pharmaceutical companies showed
that it was safe for adults in the doses were used. It was
only when the women gave birth to deformed babies that questions
started to be raised about the safety of thalidomide. When it was
revealed that it was thalidomide that had caused the deformities, I
was horrified. I was also annoyed at the drug companies for not
testing thalidomide on pregnant animals.
© 2006 Gatsby Technical Education Projects