Off-topic (though there seems to be a lot of that about :))
There is a thorny problem with thalidomide. If the L-form is
administered, the body converts some of it to the D-form. (Which means
that even if the L-form had been isolated and administered, birth
defects would still have occurred.) That would seem to be the end of
discussion, except that it turns out that thalidomide is also useful in
treating leprosy. Which occurs largely in less-developed countries...
So the choices for medics in those countries are: don't provide
thalidomide at all, and leprosy must be treated with other drugs;
provide thalidomide only to those who agree to sterilization; provide
thalidomide without requiring sterilization, producing more birth
defects. The second choice is obviously best, but education in that
situation is...difficult, to say the least. :(
Best -- Terry
On 3/24/2020 2:04 PM, Barry Jolly wrote:
Thalidomide is a stereo isomer meaning it has two forms for the same molecule, a dextro-rotary form and a levo-rotary form. Dextro-rotary isomers rotate plane polarized light to the right and levo-rotary forms rotate plane polarized light to the left. Take a look at your hands and you will see that both are hands but they will not superimpose on each other. This is the idea in stereo compounds. When thalidomide was first synthesized it was a mixture of both isomers in a form called a racemic miixture and included both dextro- and levo-rotary forms of the isomer. The human body prefers levo-rotary compounds by nature. At the time thalidomide was synthesized, researchers did not know how to chemically separate a racemic mixture of stereoisomers. Thus, the drug thalidomide was administered to patients in its racemic form. Later research proved the dextro-rotary form of thalidomide produced child deformities while the levo-rotary form did not. As chemistry separation techniques advanced it became possible to separate the thalidomide isomers into relatively pure compounds. I do not know if thalidomide is useful today. This whole area of separating stereo-compounds is still a problem for chemists today. In fact, my chemistry professor was trying to develop a resin that would filter and separate racemic mixtures. He never succeeded. Probably a Nobel prize awaits the chemist who succeeds--
Barry
Thalidomid ( initially known as "DE:Contergan" )
was marketed as a Sedative drug
prescribed for
Sleeping problems
Morning Sickness
the later was what screwed the pooch.
What turned it FUBAR was ignoring
upcoming deformation in babies.
Uwe