REVIEW ARTICLE DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2005.06747.x Thalidomide: dermatological indications, mechanisms of action and side-effects J.J. Wu,* D.B. Huang, §– K.R. Pang, S. Hsuà and S.K. Tyring**àà *Department of Dermatology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, U.S.A. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and àDepartment of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, U.S.A. §Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, –University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, and **Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, U.S.A. Department of Dermatology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, U.S.A. ààCenter for Clinical Studies, Houston, TX, U.S.A. Summary Correspondence Thalidomide was first introduced in the 1950s as a sedative but was quickly Stephen K. Tyring, removed from the market after it was linked to cases of severe birth defects. 2060 Space Park Drive, Suite 200, Houston, TX However, it has since made a remarkable comeback for the U.S. Food and Drug 77058, U.S.A. E-mail:
[email protected] Administration-approved use in the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum. Accepted for publication Further, it has shown its effectiveness in unresponsive dermatological conditions 13 February 2005 such as actinic prurigo, adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis, aphthous stomatitis, Behc¸et’s syndrome, graft-versus-host disease, cutaneous sarcoidosis, erythema Key words: multiforme, Jessner–Kanof lymphocytic infiltration of the skin, Kaposi sarcoma, dermatological uses, thalidomide lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, melanoma, prurigo nodularis, pyoderma Conflicts of interest: gangrenosum and uraemic pruritus.