Thalidomide

Thalidomide was a drug that was prescribed to pregnant women in the of late 1950s and early 1960s to help combat get hold of malady. It effectively reduced the symptoms of morning sickness in those women, further at a horrible cost. Many of the children born from women who took Thalidomide dudoughnut motherliness were born with give defects and were c each(prenominal)ed Thalidomide babies. In reference to the stereochemistry of Thalidomide, in that respect is barely one chiral carbon, and thus just key isomers. Thalidomide exists in cardinal stereoisomers, S-thalidomide, which is a sedative that calms nervousness, and R-thalidomide, which was found to be a teratogen that causes birth defects. The carbon atom from the carbon-nitrogen bond connecting the two main ring structures is chiral, as shown on the attached gift paper. The R-thalidomide isomer is the one that causes all the problems with birth defects, so one might think that if the S-thalidomide isomer was dis posed to patients instead, there wouldnt arrive been much(prenominal) a dread(a) problem. That, however, isnt the case. Humans convert the S-thalidomide into R-thalidomide once in the body, so it really doesnt matter which enantiomer is taken, it would fork over toxic effects to the babies of the pregnant women anyway.

Although the use of Thalidomide for morning sickness and its libellous effects to the babies has been called one of the biggest medical tragedies of modern measure, there was some good to come from finding the handsome results. The Thalidomide calamity led to much stricter testing being call for for drugs and pestic ides before they can be licensed. In additi! on, it has been found to be a viable treatment for many medical conditions including eightfold myeloma in people who have been recently found to have this disease. Its also used to treat and prevent cutis symptoms of erythema nodosum leprosum(ENL or leprosy).If you want to get a full essay, localize it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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