Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival as a Vital Medicine by
Trent Stephens
List Price: $26.00
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The incredible story of how thalidomide-a substance that maimed, even killed, thousands-may prove to be the next miracle drug. A remarkable medicine is now available that can successfully treat millions of people with multiple myeloma, brain tumors and other cancers, arthritis, lupus, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, leprosy, tuberculosis, and AIDS. It's thalidomide-a drug with a chilling history. In the 1950s, this "safe" sedative was all the rage in Europe. Then one baby was born without ears, another with stunted limbs, then another with no limbs at all. In all, ten thousand severely deformed babies were born before thalidomide was banned. But two years ago, this brutal toxin was approved by the FDA. How did the most infamous drug of all time become one of the major players in modern medicine? In this irresistible medical detective story, Trent Stephens and Rock Brynner recount the history of thalidomide, a fascinating tale filled with villains and heroes, and bring us up to the present day, as scientists-Stephens among them-work to create and test an alternative drug that captures thalidomide's curative properties without its cruel side effects. The chronicle of a tragic chapter in the history of public health, Dark Remedy ends with great promise, as we put thalidomide to work for us, in the treatment of over a hundred diseases.
Amazon.com Review
Twentieth-century science is too complex for any one reader's apprehension, so we look for stories that help us grasp its enormity. The jubilant discovery, demonization, and subsequent rehabilitation of thalidomide offers a wide-ranging outline of public attitudes toward science following World War II, and the authors of Dark Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival As a Vital Medicine tell the story well. Historian Rock Brynner and embryologist Trent Stephens--who may have finally determined the drug's mechanism of action in 1998--treat us to both a devastating indictment of the under-regulated pharmaceutical industry of the 1950s and a penetrating study of thalidomide's reintroduction into mainstream medicine through the black market. The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of the drug make it a popular choice for treating arthritis, leprosy, some cancers, AIDS, MS, and many other debilitating illnesses, but it has only recently won grudging approval. Though the its tone can be acidic (in one instance referring to the "Utopian prosthetics custom-designed for the deformities caused by Utopian medicine"), the book is, for the most part, fair to the corporations that caused and then ignored the epidemic of birth defects, the victims who understandably tried to prevent the drug's revival, and the regulators who were too often bound by short-sighted legislation to do their jobs. The heroes and villains are larger than life, the stories and the science are equally compelling, and Dark Remedy ultimately combines the best elements of journalism and myth. --Rob Lightner