01759nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002800058653001800086653002100104653002600125653001100151653002700162653002900189653002300218653002500241653002100266653001600287653001500303653001600318653001800334100001100352700001600363245004500379300001200424490000800436520098700444022001401431       2002                            d  c2002 Aug 0310aAngiogenesis Inhibitors10aDrug Approval10aErythema Nodosum10aGraft vs Host Disease10aHumans10aImmune System Diseases10aImmunosuppressive Agents10aLeprostatic Agents10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aMultiple Myeloma10aNetherlands10aTeratogens10aThalidomide10aUnited States1 aWu K L1 aSonneveld P00a[Thalidomide: new uses for an old drug].  a1438-410 v1463 a<p>Thalidomide was withdrawn from the market in the early sixties because of its teratogenic effects. Despite forty years of research, the mechanism of thalidomide embryopathy has remained unsolved. Thalidomide has various immunomodulatory effects. Thalidomide inhibits TNF alpha production, has T-cell costimulatory properties and modulates the expression of cell surface molecules on leukocytes in vivo. Thalidomide also has anti-angiogenic activity in vivo. Angiogenesis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of both solid tumours and hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma. In clinical studies, thalidomide has been used as an inhibitor of angiogenesis. Erythema nodosum leprosum is the only registered indication for the use of thalidomide in the United States of America. Thalidomide is also effective in the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease, mucocutaneous lesions in Behçet's syndrome and HIV infections, and multiple myeloma.</p>  a0028-2162