This is why we need clinical trials. We need actual data about what's happening with people.
They approved thalidomide for the wrong conditions, and without doing enough safety checks. It resulted in horrendous birth defects for children whose mothers took it -- whose severity this article understates. THIS is why rushing to treat people with an unproven drug is dangerous.
Yet, despite the horror with which this drug was regarded, it has been found to be very useful for a number of OTHER conditions -- as long as care is taken not to expose a fetus to it. Again, THIS is why we need clinical trials, with adequate time to make sure there are no unsuspected side effects.
Anyone who thinks it's going to be safe to give millions of people a vaccine that has NOT been tested in a group of volunteers, AND those people are monitored over months or a year to make sure that there are no longer-term side effects, should read more about the truly awful birth defects "thalidomide babies" were born with.
They approved thalidomide for the wrong conditions, and without doing enough safety checks. It resulted in horrendous birth defects for children whose mothers took it -- whose severity this article understates. THIS is why rushing to treat people with an unproven drug is dangerous.
Quote:When first released, thalidomide was promoted for anxiety, trouble sleeping, "tension", and morning sickness. While initially deemed to be safe in pregnancy, concerns regarding birth defects were noted in 1961 and the medication was removed from the market in Europe that year. The total number of people affected by use during pregnancy is estimated at 10,000, of which about 40% died around the time of birth. Those who survived had limb, eye, urinary tract, and heart problems. Its initial entry into the US market was prevented by Frances Kelsey at the FDA. The birth defects of thalidomide led to the development of greater drug regulation and monitoring in many countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide
Yet, despite the horror with which this drug was regarded, it has been found to be very useful for a number of OTHER conditions -- as long as care is taken not to expose a fetus to it. Again, THIS is why we need clinical trials, with adequate time to make sure there are no unsuspected side effects.
Quote:Thalidomide is used as a first-line treatment in multiple myeloma in combination with dexamethasone or with melphalan and prednisone, to treat acute episodes of erythema nodosum leprosum, and for maintenance therapy.
The bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) is related to leprosy. Thalidomide may be helpful in some cases where standard TB drugs and corticosteroids are not sufficient to resolve severe inflammation in the brain.
It is used as a second-line treatment to manage graft versus host disease and aphthous stomatitis in children and has been prescribed for other conditions in children including actinic prurigo and epidermolysis bullosa; the evidence for these uses is weak.
Anyone who thinks it's going to be safe to give millions of people a vaccine that has NOT been tested in a group of volunteers, AND those people are monitored over months or a year to make sure that there are no longer-term side effects, should read more about the truly awful birth defects "thalidomide babies" were born with.
