Abstract

CHAVEZ VIAMONTES, José Ángel; QUINONES HERNANDEZ, Judith  and  BERNARDEZ HERNANDEZ, Oscar. Thalidomide, historical and ethical contexts. Rev Hum Med [online]. 2009, vol.9, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1727-8120.

In Europe, Australia, Japan, and some African countries in the late 50's, Thalidomide caused more than 10 000 cases of congenital defects in children whose mothers consumed it during pregnancy. In 1962, it was withdrawn from market. Thirty years later, it is used for the management diseases with unfavorable prognosis. Its antiangiogenic and immunoregulatory characteristics distinguish it from the drug of 1950. Although containing the same pharmacological features and teratogenic risks, the molecule thalidomide does have other prescriptions, doses, application fields, and lawful conditions of use. This revision points out both the historical and ethical contexts, which conditioned the banning of Thalidomide in the early 60's, and the clinical conditions in which its therapeutic effects are used and studied today.

Keywords : Thalidomide; phocomelia; congenital malformations caused by drugs; ethical aspects.

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