MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOBP. OREGON THURSDAY, AUGUST 29. 1963 y
Thalidomide Scare Tightens Law Huti Sorrow Lomigers
United Press International posed to be, or with other iduced by Chemle Grunen- Already, according to tion proved close to the ous thalidomide drugs from , given official approval. , veloped. A leading British , been negative. We have been
Just a year after Europe's
great "thalidomide scare,"
tightened drug laws and the
passage of time appear to
have ended a tragic harvest
of cruelly deformed babies.
But sorrow, suffering and
bitterness linger.
In Europe, it is estimated
about 6,000 infants were
born between 1958 and the
end of 1962 as phocomeliacs,
or "seal babies." These chil
dren, many of them, came
into the world with no arms,
or flipper-like appendages
where their arms were sup-
more meat
ore flavors
horrible deformities.
Exact official figures sre
lacking, but the drug thali
domide was blamed for many
of the deformed births, to
mothers who had taken the
German-discovered and de
veloped drug during preg
nancy. The greatest damage was
done in West Germany
where, according to the fed
eral health ministry, about
5,000 "thalidomide babies"
were born up to the end of
last year, of whom 3,184 are
still living.
The drug first was intro
duced in West Germany in
1957 and was used on a
wide scale. Under a variety
of names "Contergan" "Dis
taval" and "softenon" were
among the best known it
spread to markets through
out most of Europe and to
other parts of the world.
It never was marketed
without prescription in the
United States where appro
val was withheld by the
Federal Drug and Health Ad
ministration. But it could be
obtained by" Americans from
Europe. One result was the
widely-publicized case of
Mrs. Sherri Finkbine. 30-year-old
Phoenix, Arizona,
housewife who flew to Swe
den last August to undergo
a legal abortion there be
cause she had taken Thalido
mide during pregnancy and
refused to risk having a
malformed child.
thai, one of Germany's most
highly respected chemical
firms, in 1953. After exhaus
tive tests it was approved by
official clinics and placed on
the market in 1957. Its attri
butes were remarkable. It
was a highly effective seda
tive that could be taken with
no known after-effects; it was
an effective sleep-inducer.
Reduced Misery
And, it showed later, when
taken by prospective mothers
it took a lot of misery out of
pregnancy, including morn
ing sickness.
By the end of 1961 some
thing like 100 million thali
domide pills had been sold.
The drug also was sold in
liquid form, and as a suppo
sitory. But by 1961 medical men
already were having serious
second thoughts about this
new "wonder drug." As early
as the autumn of 1960, Ger
man doctors were disturbed
by a sudden increase in de
formed births in the coun
try. By November, 1961. Dr.
Widikund Lenz of Hamburg,
a specialist in childbirth and
child care, thought he knew
the reason. On Nov. 16, 1UG1,
he telephoned the Grunenthal
firm at its head office in
Stolberg and expressed his
fears. He urged the company
to withdraw "Contergan
the name under which it was
sold in Germany, from th
market.
On Nov. 19, Grunenthal
Lenz, Germany could expect mark.
from 50 to 100 malformed . ..
babies to be born each In raP,d succession other
month. His unhappy predic- countries withdrew the vari-
Thalidomide was first pro- withdrew it.
CHRISTMAS WEDDING - Bobby Vee, 20, teen-age singing
idol, poses with his fiance and childhood sweetheart, Karen
Bergen, 20. The couple plan a Christmas holiday wedding
in Bobby's native town of Fargo, N. D. (UPI)
f5 tar (Grocer's 1
their markets.
Then the toll in malformed
babies was counted. In Bri
tain there were no over-all
official figures but competent
estimates ran as high as 800
seal" babies born before the
drug was withheld; 53 were
officially confirmed. Sweden
counted 153 deformed blrthi
up to the end of 1962, with 111
confirmed as born to "thali
domide mothers." Holland
had 16. Norway 19. Austria
7. Switzerland "possibly" 10.
Belgium 26.
Only France, Spain and
Portugal reported no "thali
domide babies." In those
three countries the drug
never had been put freely on
the market.
Suits Filed
Many parents sued for re
dress. In Germany about 60
law suits were lined up
against the Grunenthal com
pany. Two of the suits, charg
ing negligence became "test
cases" for the others. The two
cases currently are in recess
while expert opinion on Con
tergan and its effects is being
collected. They are due to
resume later this year and it
is predicted the legal battle
may go on for years.
In Belgium, a 25-year-old
mother, Mrs. Suzanne Coipel,
her husband, their doctor and
other relatives were put on
trial for having murdered
Mrs. Coipel's "seal" baby.
They were acquitted and Bel
gians cheered the jury's verdict.
So far as public records
show, no "thalidomide ba
bies have been born in
Europe in 1963. The last such
births to receive public at
tention were at Reading, Eng
land, on Sept. 29, 1962, and
in Sterling, Scotland, on
Nov. 18, 1962.
Laws Tightened
All countries affected by
the thalidomide cases either
have tightened or are in the
process of tightening laws
governing tfcross-the-counter
sales of drugs. Others are
seeking ways to improve test
ing of drugs before they are
V:-'
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I it V -
V rr " '
Your grocer's no Ben Casey, but he's a specialist just the same. He's an expert on
foods, and his prescription is... Blue Bell Potato Chips!
Of course you know how popular Blue Bell Potato Chips are with your family and
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He knows that Blue Bell has made crisp, golden savory potato chips-and only potato
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Your grocer's a food specialist, whose business depends on pleasing you. He knows
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Chances are, he takes them home himself!
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V
But medical researchers
still see no sure way to com
pletely prevent such unsu1!
pected effects as those laid at
the door of thalidomide, and
they are worried lest the
thalidomide scare should
create an atmosphere of such
fear and suspicion that noth
ing new in the field of drug
research will be accepted.
Thalidomide's effects on
the human foetus were not
checked for two reasons. Be
cause there was no suspicion
of such effects and because
no known method of making
such a check had been de
pharmacologist said:
"It may take a lot of ex
periments to discover a spe
cies of animal in which harm
ful effects of drugs on the
foetus could be taken to pre
dict what could happen in
the case of a woman."
The Grunenthal firm itself
has been running such ex
periments, and has reported:
"Since the first cases of
deformities (blamed on thali
domide) we have adminis
tered doses as much as 100
times larger (on laboratory
animals) than any given to a
human. All the tests have
been negative. We have been
unable to create any deformities."
pn
WHIH I. MMIW !.'
PIGGLY WIGGLY
741 Stewart Ave.
Merfford
Drivolron Gives
Reaction Check
In Aulo Crash
By RICHARD FONTANA
United Press International
Pittsburgh-WPD - The truck
appeared from nowhere.
Brakes equealed. There was a
crash, a blinding flash, then
darkness.
Then the lights were turned
on.
The crash occurred on a
movie screen. The "car" in
volved was a compartment
approximately 7 by 3 feet
with a steering wheel, brakes,
gas pedal and turn signals.
It's a driving simulator (call
ed "drivotron.")
The device is used to test
motorist reaction and driving
habits in situations under
which most traffic accidents
occur.
It works like this:
The subject being examined
sits in the simulated car while
a movie is projected on a
screen directly In front of
him. The proximity of the
driver to the screen makes the
scenes almost life-like. The
driver is then confronted with
a scries of emergencies and
his reactions are recorded
electronically. If he avoids
the accident, the projector
stops. If the accident occurs,
a burst of stars hits the screen.
Determine Cause
A critique follows the ex
amination and the reasons for
the accidents are simple to
determine. Generally, the pri
mary causes are speeding and
carelessness.
The National Safety council
feels the driver simulators
"are quite valuable in both
the areas of driver education
and in safety research.'"
Principal users of the device
are owners of commercial
fleets and the U.S. Air Force.
Most report considerable de
cline in accident rates after
their drivers had been expos
ed to the examinations sev
eral times.
The manufacturers of the
mechanism (Rockwell Mfg.
Co. and Aetna Casualty and
Surety Co.) do not consider
the tests a panacea. But they
do feci the process induces
an awareness of the accident
potential inherent in driving
which annually causes enor
mous loss of life and property.
In 1962, according to the Na
tional Safety council, traffic
accidents caused 40,900
deaths, 1.5 million disabling
injuries and the loss of $7.3
billion.
These devastating figures in
most cases resulted from poor
driving habits and techniques.
This is what the testing is In
tended to alter.
RATE DOWN
Salem 0TPII- The statewide
rate of insured unemployment
was down for the week end
ing Aug. 22 compared to both
a year ago and four weeks
ago, David H. Cameron, em
ployment commissioner, said
EflW
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Courtesy of Mail Tribune
o
Wednesday.