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Article: Modus Operandi of an Infamous Drug.(diethylstilbestrol)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 20, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Mutant mice provide clues to how DES wreaked havoc in the womb
First, do no harm. Physicians try to adhere religiously to this creed, but sometimes the best of intentions go awry.
In the 1940s, physicians began giving diethylstilbestrol (DES) to pregnant women, several million of them in the United States alone. The first synthetic version of the hormone estrogen, DES was available as a pill, making it an eagerly welcomed drug for the physicians of the time who believed that insufficient amounts of estrogen led to a miscarriage. DES grew so popular that it was even prescribed for pregnant women not at high risk of a miscarriage and for treating conditions ...