The return of thalidomide

Thalidomide victims rallied against the German drugmaker Grunenthal in 2008, half a century after the company launched the notorious morning sickness pill.

(Image credit: Corbis)

last updated 8 January 2015

Thalidomide, the notorious sedative that caused a wave of birth defects in the 1950s and 1960s, is "on its way to a second act," says Amanda Schaffer in Slate. The drug caused a scandal after women who had taken it as a cure for morning sickness gave birth to phocomelic children — with undeveloped or missing limbs and features. But 50 years later, the drug is steadily gaining respectability after being approved by the FDA for the treatment of leprosy and bone marrow cancer, and, astonishingly, showing promise as an "immune booster for the elderly." If this keeps up, the "most reviled drug of the 20th century" might end up being a significant lifesaver in the 21st, writes Schaffer. Here's an excerpt:

Today, scientists are investigating [thalidomide] and a close chemical cousin, to treat conditions from lupus to psoriasis and even as an immune booster for the elderly. This possibility is especially stunning because it means contemplating widespread usage of this class of drugs in basically healthy people and in a group old enough to recall the thalidomide tragedy firsthand...