Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

419
thalidomide
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was then not approved for marketing in the US and
it was taken off the market in other countries.
However, in 1998 it was approved by the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of
a skin condition that is due to leprosy (erythema
nodosum leprosum). Thalidomide appears to mod-
ify the reaction of the immune system to the leprosy
bacterium and thereby suppresses the skin reaction.
It also appears to have other beneficial uses in the
treatment of several different types of cancer, HIV-
related ulcers, and some autoimmune diseases.
Thalidomide is a potent teratogen and should never
be taken by women who are or could become preg-
nant. See also 
thalidomide baby; thalidomide syn-
drome, teratogen.
thalidomide baby
An infant who is affected by
prenatal exposure to the drug thalidomide. In 1998,
thalidomide again became available to treat certain
conditions, and there is concern that babies may be
born with the thalidomide syndrome as they were in
the 1950s and early 1960s.
thalidomide syndrome
A congenital malforma-
tion syndrome that is caused by maternal exposure
to thalidomide. Although thalidomide syndrome is
epitomized by the flipper-like limbs (phocomelia),
thalidomide causes a wide range of birth defects,
including absence of ears with deafness; defects of
the muscles of the eye and of the face; absence or
hypoplasia (underdevelopment) of the arms, espe-
cially affecting the radius and the thumb; thumbs
with three joints; defects of the femur and of the
tibia; and malformations of the heart, bowel, uterus,
and gallbladder. The pattern of malformations
depends on the time of intake of the drug.
Thalidomide usually causes no malformations if
taken before the 34th day or after the 50th day after
the last menstruation. During the sensitive period,
taking thalidomide causes the following sequence of
malformations:
• 35th–37th day: absent ears and deafness
• 39th–41st day: absent arms
• 43rd–44th day: phocomelia with three
fingers
• 46th–48th day: thumbs with three joints
If thalidomide is taken throughout the sensitive
period, the baby may have severe defects of the ears,
arms, legs, and internal organs, and the baby may
die. About 40 percent of thalidomide babies died
before their first birthday, but many thalidomide
babies have lived into adulthood.