Thalidomid-Embryopathie. I. Vorkommen inner- und außerhalb Deutschlands

The animal model of human disease as a core concept of medical research: Historical cases, failures, and some epistemological considerations

“…Subsequent publications turned from individual case reports to aggregated data sets (Daemmrich 2004, 62) 23 . The evidence showed that the wave of birth defects followed the market introduction of the drug with a time lag of several months, that the geographical distribution of the characteristic malformations coincided with the areas where the drug was marketed, and that in countries where thalidomide was not available, there were no children born with the malformations (McBride 1961; Dijkhuis et al 1962; Ward 1962; Wegerle 1962; Weicker & Hungerland 1962). By that time, the evidence for a causal link between the intake of thalidomide and the occurrence of the birth defects was such that the drug was withdrawn from the market in the majority of the countries in which it had been for sale (Kirk 1999, 155–163).…”

Short-term Changes in the Incidence of Malformations

“…In recent years large increases in the incidence of microtia and ectromelia have occurred in many countries, and it is generally agreed that these increases are due at least in part to the taking of the sedative thalidomide in early pregnancy (Leck and Millar, 1962;Lenz and Knapp, 1962;Saller and Unglaub, 1962;Smithells, 1962;Taussig, 1962;Weicker and Hungerland, 1962). In the present series there were three children with absence of the auricle or external auditory meatus, and ten with bilateral reduction deformities of the limbs of the type previously described in association with thalidomide.…”

Thalidomid-Embryopathie 60 Jahre

“…Diese Rückschau fasst die wesentlichen Entwicklungen vor 60 Jahren zusammen, von der Erkennung als Teratogen bis zu den sich ergebenen Konsequenzen für die Betroffenen. Drei 1962 erschienene Arbeiten in der "Deutschen Medizinischen Wochenschrift" haben die frühen Phasen der Entstehungsgeschichte dokumentiert [1][2][3]. Eine Rückschau nach 40 Jahren erschien 2005 [4] und 2015 nach 55 Jahren [5].…”