Did thalidomide only affect limbs?

Thalidomide was available to pregnant women in the late 1950s but it was taken off the UK market in 1961 after a link was made between the drug and the numbers of babies born with severe deformities. The most common defect was to the limbs. Babies were born with stunted arms or legs or, in some cases, no limbs at all.

What deformities did thalidomide cause?

The birth defects caused by the drug thalidomide can range from moderate malformation to more severe forms. Possible birth defects include phocomelia, dysmelia, amelia, bone hypoplasticity, and other congenital defects affecting the ear, heart, or internal organs.

What stage of development is altered affected by thalidomide?

The embryonic period or critical period is when most organ systems form, whereas the fetal period, week eight to birth, involves the growth and modeling of the organ systems. During the window of susceptibility, teratogens such as thalidomide can severely damage critical milestones of embryonic development.

Which limbs are sensitive to teratogenic damage first?

Multiple clinical studies have ascertained that some limb elements are more sensitive to thalidomide than others and an order of limb element loss can be determined, for example, the thumb is the most sensitive, followed by the radius, then the humerus, the ulna and finally fingers on the ulnar side (middle, ring and …

How does thalidomide affect limb development?

Over 80% of children born to mothers who took thalidomide had limb defects (2, 3, 5, 6). These defects ranged from absence of the limb (amelia) or proximal limb elements (phocomelia) to loss of the thumb or digit tip and are induced in a small time-sensitive developmental window (2, 3, 6–8).

What is a flipper baby?

flipper baby (plural flipper babies) (offensive, slang) A person born with defective limbs as a result of the mother taking thalidomide during pregnancy.

What is an Agent Orange baby?

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assumes that a biological child of a Vietnam veteran born with spina bifida developed the condition in utero due to the Agent Orange exposure of one of the parents.

What is amelia and phocomelia?

Phocomelia, or amelia, is a rare condition that causes very short limbs. It’s a type of congenital disorder. This means it’s present at birth. Phocomelia can vary in type and severity. The condition might affect one limb, the upper or lower limbs, or all four limbs.

What is the most common teratogenic effect associated with thalidomide?

Thalidomide is a teratogenic drug, meaning that when taken while pregnant, it can have terrible impacts on fetal development and cause irreversible damages. Phocomelia, a limb atrophy, is the most common malformation linked to thalidomide, but all phocomelia cases aren’t caused by thalidomide.

What is the effect of thalidomide teratogenicity?

Teratogenicity is the most severe and well-known adverse effect associated with thalidomide. Babies born with malformations such as amelia, phocomelia, bone hypoplasia and absence of bones resulted from the thalidomide tragedy.

How does thalidomide affect fetal development?

The degradation of SALL4 interferes with limb development and other aspects of fetal growth. The result is the spectrum of complications indelibly linked to thalidomide: the deformed limbs and defective organs in children whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy as a treatment for morning sickness.

What is Amelia and phocomelia?