Mirror molecules are chemical compounds that can occur in two isomers. One of L-rotatory and D-rotatory. Medicines are no exception to this either. A well-known medication with two variants would be L-DOPA and D-DOPA. L-DOPA is preferred for Parkinson’s disease.
We need to prescribe drugs, particularly enantiomers with caution. There wasn’t much advancement in the 1950s and 1960s, which meant there weren’t guidelines on developing, producing and marketing the newly synthesised thalidomide drug that everyone in Germany relied on for a good night’s sleep. What we know today as R-thalidomide as a preferred drug for administration for morning sickness in pregnant women, S-thalidomide was the drug that causes birth defects or children born with deformities. At the time, it was thought to have less side effects so there was minimal toxicity. What was supposed to be a cure-all is now a court case. It was also the most complex criminal proceeding case in Germany. It was sold as Contergan. There’s an estimate that around 10,000 children worldwide were affected by this drug, and it’s called thalidomide-induced teratogenesis. Grünenthal was forced to settle and compensate for the affected families to gain financial security. Initially, several Grünenthal employees, nine of them, were charged with negligence and homicide but it was later dropped and he was involved in a civil compensation. Grünenthal scientists Dr. Wilhelm Kunz and Dr. Herbert Keller synthesized thalidomide for the first time in March 1954.
The Federal Thalidomide Foundation that was formed after the trial is the financial support system of the affected families. It is known as ‘The Thalidomide Tragedy’ in Germany.
Credit: http://www.thepipettepen.com/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-how-mirror-images-of-molecules-affect-our-daily-lives/, https://www.thalidomide-tragedy.com/en/the-history-of-the-thalidomide-tragedy, https://www.thalidomide-tragedy.com/en/news/the-end-of-the-thalidomide-case-50-years-later#:~:text=What%20was%20the%20Thalidomide%20trial,the%20so%2Dcalled%20Thalidomide%20tragedy.
Scriveners Online© 