FDA clears thalidomide for leprosy use.The infamous drug thalidomide thalidomide (thəlĭd`əmĭd'), sleep-inducing drug found to produce skeletal defects in developing fetuses. The drug was marketed in Europe, especially in West Germany and Britain, from 1957 to 1961, and was thought to be so safe that continued on the long road back to respectability last month as the Food and Drug Administration approved it--under tight restrictions--for use against leprosy leprosy or Hansen's disease (hăn`sənz), chronic, mildly infectious malady capable of producing, when untreated, various deformities and disfigurements. . Tests of thalidomide, a sedative sedative, any of a variety of drugs that relieve anxiety. Most sedatives act as mild depressants of the nervous system, lessening general nervous activity or reducing the irritability or activity of a specific organ. that caused thousands of birth defects before its ban more than 35 years ago, have also shown the drug to heal painful mouth ulcers in AIDS patients (SN: 11/11/95, p. 311; SN: 12/24&31/94, p. 424). Research is under way to assess its potential value against cancer, autoimmune diseases, and macular macular adjective Related to 1. A macule 2. The macula degeneration--a leading cause of blindness. Celgene Corp. of Warren, N.J., plans to manufacture the drug, and a team from Boston University will monitor its use on leprosy patients. |
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