Finding New Uses for Thalidomide

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Finding New Uses for Thalidomide

Nature Medicine (12/95) Vol. 1, No. 12, P. 1230
Gershon, Diane

Midtrial results of a Phase II, placebo-controlled study of thalidomide suggest that the drug is a safe and effective treatment for mouth ulcers in HIV patients. The placebo side of the study therefore has been shut down and all patients will now be able to receive the drug on an "open-label" basis. The two-part study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and conducted through NIAID's AIDS Clinical Trials Group, found that 61 percent of the thalidomide recipients' mouth ulcers healed, compared to just 4.5 percent in the control group. The drug, which became infamous for the birth defects it caused in England and Germany, was never approved in the United States, though some AIDS patients are now unofficially obtaining it through buyer's clubs for the treatment of AIDS, ulcers, and HIV-related wasting. Thalidomide is also being used for other disorders in both Brazil and France. Despite the risks associated with thalidomide, women of childbearing age did participate in the NIAID study. "We felt strongly that women should be allowed equal access to a potentially beneficial therapy," said Jeffrey M. Jacobson, a chair of the study. The researchers imposed several safety precautions, however, to minimize the danger, including periodic pregnancy tests and requiring women to either abstain from sexual intercourse or use three methods of contraception at the same time.

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