Thalidomide Thalidomide was released onto the market in 1958 in West Germany under the label of Contergan. Primarily prescribed as a sedative or hypnotic, thalidomide also claimed to cure "anxiety, insomnia, gastritis, and tension". Afterwards it was used against nausea and to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant women. Thalidomide became an over-the-counter drug in Germany around 1960 and could be bought without a prescription. Shortly after the drug was sold, in Germany, between 5,000 and 7,000 infants were born with<unk> . Only 40% of these children survived. Research also proves that although<unk>  did exist through the 1940s and 1950s, cases of severe<unk>  multiplied in the 1960s, when thalidomide was released in Germany; the direct cause was traced to thalidomide. The statistic was given that "50 percent of the mothers with deformed children had taken thalidomide during the first trimester of pregnancy." Throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, 10,000 cases were reported of infants with<unk> ; only 50% of the 10,000 survived. Thalidomide became effectively linked to death or severe disabilities among babies. Those subjected to thalidomide while in the womb experienced limb deficiencies in a way that the long limbs either were not developed or presented themselves as stumps. Other effects included: deformed eyes, hearts, alimentary, and urinary tracts, and blindness and deafness. Genetic inheritance According to National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD): when<unk>  is transmitted in its familial genetic form it is seen as an autosomal recessive trait and the mutation is linked to chromosome 8. A study of Roberts Syndrome, a genetic disorder showing similar symptoms to<unk> , has shed light on the possible causes. An individual afflicted with Roberts Syndrome will have chromosome copies that do not connect at the centromeres, making them unable to line up accordingly. As a result, the newly made cells contain an excess or reduced number of chromosomes. In both Roberts Syndrome and<unk>  the cells cease to develop, or die, preventing proper development of the limbs, eyes, brain, palate, or other structures.
Phocomelia
Rhizomelia
Dolichostenomelia
Loxoscelism
Mesomelia
Sirenomelia
Meromelia
Adiposogenital dystrophy