Thalidomide
Jan. 4th, 2006 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
etumukutenyakTwice now I've seen posts on Thalidomide, and both times the posters refer to it as a teratogen, but effective against certain forms of cancer.
This is true. What is not mentioned on the Wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide) is that the teratogenicity is limited to the first trimester. After this period, it is not nearly as toxic to the fetus and does not cause the phocomelia.
Does anyone mention Accutane? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accutane) If you compare this to the description of thalidomide, you'll see that the teratogenicity is less prominently portrayed; however, Accutane is a violent teratogen throughout the pregnancy period. There is no diminishing of its effects.
But Accutane doesn't have "survivors" who are adamantly opposed to its use. Thalidomide survivors are fierce in their opposition to the use of thalidomide, and it is because of their powerful lobby that thalidomide is severely restricted, with female patients required to use two forms of contraception plus monthly pregnancy tests while using this drug.
I have no opposition to using either drug. I merely point out that thalidomide is simply one example of a dangerous (dangerous!! OMG!!11) drug. There are many such drugs, and as a former toxicologist, my favorite phrase is "Anything in large enough quantities can be toxic". Of course, this is a simplification, but it's still got a kernel of truth to it. Oxygen, after all, is a major pollutant that killed off many species early on in evolution. ;-)
This is true. What is not mentioned on the Wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide) is that the teratogenicity is limited to the first trimester. After this period, it is not nearly as toxic to the fetus and does not cause the phocomelia.
Does anyone mention Accutane? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accutane) If you compare this to the description of thalidomide, you'll see that the teratogenicity is less prominently portrayed; however, Accutane is a violent teratogen throughout the pregnancy period. There is no diminishing of its effects.
But Accutane doesn't have "survivors" who are adamantly opposed to its use. Thalidomide survivors are fierce in their opposition to the use of thalidomide, and it is because of their powerful lobby that thalidomide is severely restricted, with female patients required to use two forms of contraception plus monthly pregnancy tests while using this drug.
I have no opposition to using either drug. I merely point out that thalidomide is simply one example of a dangerous (dangerous!! OMG!!11) drug. There are many such drugs, and as a former toxicologist, my favorite phrase is "Anything in large enough quantities can be toxic". Of course, this is a simplification, but it's still got a kernel of truth to it. Oxygen, after all, is a major pollutant that killed off many species early on in evolution. ;-)
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Date: 2006-01-05 03:54 am (UTC)I'm honestly not sure if there is a substance on earth that is solely poison or solely beneficial.
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Date: 2006-01-05 04:04 am (UTC)Now you're thinking like a toxicologist! Because, strictly speaking, no, there isn't. However, it comes down to dose and to individual response. As I mentioned above, oxygen was once a toxin and is still (under certain circumstances) dangerous, but we all require it for daily life. Water in large quantities is not toxic, by definition, but it does have an adverse effect upon the body.
Toxicology was so much fun..more than microbiology, which is really good for paranoids. ;-) and people who like making lists..and people who like making lists of names and then changing all the names. ;-)