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14 The Return of Thalidomide

The passage discusses the history and development of the drug Thalidomide. It describes how Thalidomide was originally introduced in the late 1950s as a treatment for nausea in pregnancy but was withdrawn in 1961 when it was discovered to cause severe birth defects. Tests on animals had not revealed these effects. The drug was later found to have anti-inflammatory properties and become an effective treatment for various conditions like leprosy, arthritis, and cancer. While effective, the mechanisms of how Thalidomide works are not fully understood due to its controversial past. It remains cautiously used as research continues into its applications and side effects.

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364 views3 pages

14 The Return of Thalidomide

The passage discusses the history and development of the drug Thalidomide. It describes how Thalidomide was originally introduced in the late 1950s as a treatment for nausea in pregnancy but was withdrawn in 1961 when it was discovered to cause severe birth defects. Tests on animals had not revealed these effects. The drug was later found to have anti-inflammatory properties and become an effective treatment for various conditions like leprosy, arthritis, and cancer. While effective, the mechanisms of how Thalidomide works are not fully understood due to its controversial past. It remains cautiously used as research continues into its applications and side effects.

Uploaded by

Cami Piña Espinoza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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14 THE RETURN OF THALIDOMIDE

A. In 1961 an Australian doctor, William McBride, noticed a sudden increase in the number of
babies being born with one or more limbs missing. He realized that all their mothers had
taken the same drug during pregnancy, and he alerted the medical word. The drug,
Thalidomide, had been used since the late 1950s to combat nausea during pregnancy.
When its catastrophic effects were realized – 40% of affected children died in their first
year- it was withdrawn from use.

B. The drug had been believed safe, as it had been thoroughly tested don animals. Tests had
shown that rats could be given massive doses without any ill-effects. Today´s strict rules
for drug-testing owe a great deal to Thalidomide.

C. The drug remained out of use until 1964. When Dr Jacob Sheskin found some old boxes of
in his French clinic, and decided to try it as a sedative to relieve the suffering of a patient
with leprosy, a disease that eats away at the flesh and bones. Within three days, lesions
had healed and the leprosy disappeared. Since then, the drug has cautiously been trialled
as a treatment for a wide range of conditions.

D. The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of the drug make it effective at treating


arthritis, AIDS. Multiple sclerosis and over 100 other conditions, including many
autoimmune disorders. It is also believed to restrict the growth of blood vessels in
cancerous tumors. Garry Edlin, a patient whose rare form of cancer, mantle cell
lymphoma, has been successfully treated by Thalidomide at Derriford Hospital in the UK,
said. “Within ten days the huge lumps had gone it´s like a miracle cure”.

E. Although Thalidomide is known to be effective, we do not fully understand how it Works.


For this reason, and because of the memories of it´s devastating introduction, it will take
some time before Thalidomide is widely accepted as a treatment.

1. Read the article and decided if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1. One of the side effects of Thalidomide was nausea. F
2. 40% of mothers who took Thalidomide had normal children. F
3. The tests carried out on Thalidomide were not strict enough. T
4. Thalidomide can cure leprosy. T
5. Thalidomide can damage the autoimmune system. F
6. We still don’t know exactly how Thalidomide works. T

2. Add these sentences to the end of the paragraphs (A-E) where they fit best.
1. It has been so successful in many cases, that it is seen by some as a “wonder drug”. C
2. At least this drug, which caused such tragedy when introduced, can now offer hope to
sufferers of conditions that are otherwise incurable. E
3. Investigations began immediately into what had gone wrong. A
4. However, Garry does suffer from side effects of the drug sutras muscle pain, and
numbness in the hands and feet. D
5. Drugs must now undergo thorough testing on human subjects before being made
available for general use. B

3. Write sentences making predictions about people in your class. Give a reason for each
one.
Example. Grace is going to fall asleep this afternoon – she looks very tired!

 Valentina will leave class early - she looks bored.


 Maria José has to read about it - she doesn't understand the class.
 Julian is going to eat when class is over - I've seen him yawn three times.
 Diego participates a lot in class - he is very smart.
 Faver is interested in learning the language - it is accomplished with class
activities.
 Fabian wants to leave the class - he is anxious.

Pandemics and TAMIFLU


When someone who has a flu sneezes nearby, you take tiny droplets of their saliva into your lungs.
The droplets contain viruses that are looking for a new home. They get into your lungs and then
into your blood, and can quickly take over your whole body, using it as a factory in which they can
reproduce.

At any time, a deadly bacterium or a virus can become very successful and spread across the
world, killing millions of human beings. When this happens it is called a “pandemic”.

There was a pandemic in 1918 an influenza virus called H1N1, or “Spanish flu”, killed between 50
and 100 million people. More people died from H1N1 than were killed in the First World War.

A letter from a doctor in a military camp in 1918 describes the situation:

“… it is only a few hours until death comes, it is horrible, we have been averaging about 100
deaths per day. We have lost many nurse and doctors. Special trains carry away the dead. For
several days there were no coffins and the bodies piled up”

Since 1918, the H1N1 virus has mutated. Now there is a mutation called H5N1. When this
mutation first appeared in China in 1996, there was a desperate search for a medicine to deal with
it. The pharmaceutical company Roche came up with a drug called Tamiflu.

Tamiflu does not kill H5N1, but stops it making copies of itself, if given early enough, vaccinations
of Tamiflu could perhaps save many lives. However, the virus will continue to mutate, and might
become resistant to Tamiflu. The next mutation may already be with us by the time you´re reading
this!

1. Can you name any deadly infectious diseases that have spread around the world?
 The current disease caused by the covid-19 coronavirus.

2. Read the sentences and decided if they are true (T) or false (F).
1. A pandemic is a type of virus. F
2. Viruses reproduce outside your body. F
3. More people died from Spanish fly than were killed in the First World War. T
4. H1N1 is the name of a pandemic. F
5. H5N1 is an antiviral drug. F
6. Tamiflu is made by Roche. T
7. Tamiflu stops H5N1 spreading. T

3. What is the latest new on bird flu?


 In this year, a new outbreak of H5N6 avian influenza has been reported in the
midst of this pandemic due to the new coronavirus, however, different studies
have been shown saying that it knows of the virus, it is not possible to transmit it
to humans, however the due precautions to avoid major catastrophes.

STUDENTS:
Mónica Valentina Ruiz Villada 100150302018
María Camila Piña Espinosa 100150632018

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