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Classic illustration
Europ. J. Obstet. Gynec. reprod. Biol., 16 (1984) 365 Elsevier
365
EIO 00056
Classic illustration
Fig. 1. Showing the relationship between malformations of the thalidomide type and the sales of thalidomide (figures for F.R.G., excluding Hamburg). 0 - - - 0, thalidomide sales (January 1961= loo); l 0, 845 abnormalities of the thalidomide type (October 1961 =lOO). W. Lenz (1965): Discussion in Symposium on Embryopathic activity of drugs. Editors: J.M. Robson, F.M. Sullivan and R.L. Smith. J. and A. Churchill Ltd., 104 Gloucester Place, London Wl (reprinted with permission).
This figure is taken from the discussion in the Symposium on ‘Embryopathic activity of drugs’ organized by the anatomical society of Great Britain and Ireland, the British Association for Cancer Research, the British Pharmacological Society, the Physiological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Society for Developmental Biology and the Society for Endocrinology. The figure was presented by W. Lenz working at the Institute for Human Genetics in Hamburg, F.R.G., and Lenz said: ‘There is an approximate parallelism between the two curves, suggesting that they could be causally related. The time separation between the two curves, i.e., about nine months, is as one would expect on biological grounds’. It is here that a rare spontaneous occurrence in nature, namely phocomelia, was duplicated by the ingestion of the sedative, thalidomide. It is remarkable that, within the above-mentioned Societies that organized the Symposium, Obstetrics and Gynecology is lacking. This classic illustration still did not reach prescribing doctors and the public because in 1971 another drug drama was revealed (DES, diethylstilbestrol). We sincerely hope that through the repeat of this classic illustration those involved in health care will realize that drug surveillance on a national and international scale has to be carried out. Only through such a system can patients be warned immediately or be found in retrospect. T.K.A.B. ESKES Nijmegen
365
EIO 00056
Classic illustration
Fig. 1. Showing the relationship between malformations of the thalidomide type and the sales of thalidomide (figures for F.R.G., excluding Hamburg). 0 - - - 0, thalidomide sales (January 1961= loo); l 0, 845 abnormalities of the thalidomide type (October 1961 =lOO). W. Lenz (1965): Discussion in Symposium on Embryopathic activity of drugs. Editors: J.M. Robson, F.M. Sullivan and R.L. Smith. J. and A. Churchill Ltd., 104 Gloucester Place, London Wl (reprinted with permission).
This figure is taken from the discussion in the Symposium on ‘Embryopathic activity of drugs’ organized by the anatomical society of Great Britain and Ireland, the British Association for Cancer Research, the British Pharmacological Society, the Physiological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Society for Developmental Biology and the Society for Endocrinology. The figure was presented by W. Lenz working at the Institute for Human Genetics in Hamburg, F.R.G., and Lenz said: ‘There is an approximate parallelism between the two curves, suggesting that they could be causally related. The time separation between the two curves, i.e., about nine months, is as one would expect on biological grounds’. It is here that a rare spontaneous occurrence in nature, namely phocomelia, was duplicated by the ingestion of the sedative, thalidomide. It is remarkable that, within the above-mentioned Societies that organized the Symposium, Obstetrics and Gynecology is lacking. This classic illustration still did not reach prescribing doctors and the public because in 1971 another drug drama was revealed (DES, diethylstilbestrol). We sincerely hope that through the repeat of this classic illustration those involved in health care will realize that drug surveillance on a national and international scale has to be carried out. Only through such a system can patients be warned immediately or be found in retrospect. T.K.A.B. ESKES Nijmegen