- thalidomide
- A hypnotic drug which, if taken in early pregnancy, may cause the birth of infants with phocomelia and other defects; under investigational use for treatment of leprosy and as an immunomodulator in HIV infections and graft vs. host reactions.
* * *
tha·lid·o·mide thə-'lid-ə-.mīd, -məd n a sedative, hypnotic, and antiemetic drug C13H10N2O4 that was used chiefly in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s esp. to treat morning sickness but was soon withdrawn after being shown to cause serious malformations (as missing or severely shortened arms and legs) in infants born to mothers using it during the first trimester of pregnancy and has now been reintroduced for use as a treatment for the cutaneous complications of leprosy and is being investigated for use as an immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and antiangiogenic agent in the treatment of various diseases* * *
n.a drug that was formerly used as a sedative. If taken during the first three months of pregnancy, it was found to cause fetal abnormalities involving limb malformation and was withdrawn as a sedative in 1962 . Recently, however, thalidomide has been found to be effective in treating certain cancers and other disorders (including Behçet's syndrome).* * *
tha·lid·o·mide (thə-lidґo-mīd) [USP] a sedative and hypnotic commonly used in Europe in the late 1950's and 1960's. Its use was discontinued because it was discovered to cause serious congenital anomalies in the fetus, notably amelia and phocomelia, when taken by a woman during early pregnancy. It is currently used in the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
