CHEM 3LB3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Mercury Poisoning, Selma Blair, Charlie Sheen
Document Summary
Lecture 8 thalidomide & scientists vs celebrities. Found to have an inhibitory effect on morning sickness. 1957 launched an aggressive marketing campaign as a wonder drug for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches. To be approved, most drugs have to show a targeted response: do what you want it to do with minimal side effects. The exact method of action of thalidomide is still unknown: not really targeted. Does what we want it to do and a lot of other stuff too. Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre- existing vessels: 7000+ cases of thalidomide babies in western germany, 10,000+ cases worldwide. Angiogenesis is critical in a foetus because developing limbs are particularly susceptible with a relatively immature highly angiogenic vessel network. Teratogenic analogs (e. g. , thalidomide) inhibit angiogenesis whereas nonteratogenic analogs do not inhibit angiogenesis: prevents limbs from developing how they"re supposed to, direct inhibitor.
