This determined a “lethal dose 50”, or LD50, level. Standard toxicity tests at the time involved dosing mice until half of the population died. Laboratory and animal test results were first published in 1956 and showed the drug had a low toxicity. Studies showed showed thalidomide was a safe and effective as a sedative, but it wasn’t tested on pregnant women. Thalidomide was first synthesized in March 1954 by chemists at Chemie Grünenthal (Grünenthal), a small pharmaceutical and fine chemical manufacturer in northwestern Germany. More sustained criticism of excessive tranquilizer and sedative followed in the 1960s, when evidence emerged that users of meprobamate and other minor tranquilizers suffered withdrawal symptoms in the form of anxiety, irritability, insomnia, headaches, and depression when they stopped taking the pills. Medical experts began to interrogate this enthusiastic prescribing and patient demand for antibiotics, stimulants and depressants from the late 1950s. Researchers reported sedatives were suitable for use in pregnancy to treat sleeplessness, morning sickness, and severe nausea and vomiting. A 1956 study of first-time mothers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York reveals that all 50 research participants were on a mix of sedatives, hypnotics and tranquilizers while giving birth. Within months, it was the best-selling drug in the country and by 1957, one-third of all new prescriptions were for Miltown or Equanil.Īt the time, pregnant women were medicated with both sedatives and stimulants. Miltown quickly became iconic in American life. The tranquilizer meprobamate (sold under brand names Miltown and Equanil) was first marketed in 1955 to treat less severe mental and emotional conditions, notably anxiety and stress. US National Archives and Records Administration, CC BY The development of antipsychotic medicines changed the mental health treatment landscape. The introduction in 1954 of the antipsychotic medicines chlorpromazine and reserpine (sold under the brand names Thorazine and Serpasil) signalled a major therapeutic shift for mental and behavioral disorders. Public excitement for medicine’s advances ran high in this so-called medicinal “golden age.” This meant infectious diseases that had plagued mankind for centuries were now amenable to treatments lasting a week or less. Starting with penicillin in the 1940s, researchers discovered dozens of broad-spectrum antibiotics in soil samples around the world that could be inexpensively manufactured. Thalidomide was developed in an era of widespread enthusiasm – but little critical attention – for pharmaceutical therapies. In this longer read, medical historian Arthur Daemmrich sets the scene of the mid-20th century drug landscape and explains how thalidomide was marketed, used, and withdrawn after causing thousands of birth defects. Welcome to The Conversation’s series on thalidomide – the history of the tragedy, its long-term impacts and the fight for justice.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |