Arterial dysgenesis and limb defects : Clinical and experimental examples

Acknowledgements This article is dedicated to Dr David S. Packard Jr. With thanks to Dr John DeSesso, Dr Lewis B. Holmes, Dr Mark Levinsohn, Dr David S. Packard Jr, Prof Lewis Wolpert for discussions on vascular disruption, particularly arterial dysgenesis and limb defects. We apologise to the many authors whose work we were unable to cite due to space limitations. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewedPostprin

Thalidomide embryopathy : an enigmatic challenge

Thanks go to Dr. Chris Mahony, Prof. Martin Collinson, Shaunna-Leigh Beedie and Alexandra Diamond for critical comments on the paper. Thanks also go to Prof. Lynda Erskine, Dr. W. D. Figg, Dr. Lavinia Schuler-Faccini, Dr. Robert L. Smith, Prof. Nigel Brown, Prof. Ruth Ross, Prof. Cheryll Tickle and Prof. Lewis Wolpert for fantastic discussions on thalidomide. This work is dedicated to C. G. V. and C. W. M. V.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Quantitative assessment of intrinsic noise for visually guided behaviour in zebrafish

Supported by Royal Society of London (University Research Fellowship), Medical Research Council (New Investigator Research Grant) and CNRS.Peer reviewedPostprin

"The legacy of thalidomide" - A multidisciplinary meeting held at the University of York, United Kingdom, on September 30, 2016 : A multidisciplinary meeting held at the University of York, UK on September 30, 2016

BACKGROUND: Between 1957 and 1962 thalidomide was used as a nonaddictive, nonbarbiturate sedative that also was successful in relieving the symptoms of morning sickness in early pregnancy. Infamously, thousands of babies were subsequently born with severe birth defects. The drug is used again, today, to successfully treat leprosy, and tragically, there is a new generation of thalidomide damaged children in Brazil. While the outward damage in babies has been documented, the effects of the damage upon the survivors as they grow up, the lifestyle changes and adaptations required to be made, as well as studies into ageing in survivors, has received little attention and remains understudied. METHODS: A unique multidisciplinary meeting was organized at the University of York bringing together thalidomide survivors, clinicians, scientists, historians, and social scientists to discuss the past, the current and the future implications of thalidomide. RESULTS: There is still much to learn from thalidomide, from its complex history and ongoing impact on peoples' lives today, to understanding its mechanism/s to aid future drug safety, to help identify new drugs retaining clinical benefit without the risk of causing embryopathy. CONCLUSION: For thalidomide survivors, the original impairments caused by the drug are compounded by the consequences of a lifetime of living with a rare disability, and early onset age-related health problems. This has profound implications for their quality of life and need for health and social care services. It is vital that these issues are addressed in research, and in clinical practice if thalidomide survivors are to "age well". Birth Defects Research 109:296-299, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

The chick limb: embryology, genetics and teratology

MD is supported by the BBSRC through a BBSRC Institute Strategic Grant, MT is a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow and NV’s studies on thalidomide were supported by The Wellcome Trust. We all thank lab members past and present for their help and support. We apologize to those whose work we have not referenced due to lack of space.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Thalidomide and birth defects

Apologies to the many papers we were unable to cite, due to space constraints. We thank Lynda Erskine, Shaunna Beedie and Chris Mahony for helpful discussions. Lucas Rosa Fraga is funded by a PhD scholarship from the Science without Borders program - CNPq Brazil - INAGEMP/ Grant CNPq 573993/2008-4. Alex J. Diamond is funded by a BBSRC DTP PhD Scholarship.Peer reviewedPostprin

In Vivo screening and discovery of novel candidate thalidomide analogs in the zebrafish embryo and chicken embryo model systems

This study was supported by a Wellcome Trust-NIH PhD Studentship to SB, WDF and NV. Grant number 098252/Z/12/Z. SB, CHC and WDF are supported by the Intramural Research Program, NCI, NIH. NHG and WL are supported by the Intramural Research Program, NIA, NIH.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

VEGF-A and neuropilin 1 (NRP1) shape axon projections in the developing CNS via dual roles in neurons and blood vessels

We thank Vann Bennett and Daizing Zhou (Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center) for the design and generation of the Brn3bCre knock-in mice. We are grateful to Bennett Alakakone and Susan Reijntjes for help with preliminary experiments and to Anastasia Lampropoulou for preparing tissue culture media. We thank the staff of the Biological Resource Unit at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and the University of Aberdeen Institute of Medical Sciences Microscopy and Histology Facility and Medical Research Facility for technical assistance. Funding This research was funded by project grants from the Wellcome Trust [085476/A/08/Z to L.E., C.R.] and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [BB/J00815X/1 to L.E.; BB/J00930X/1 to C.R.] and a Wellcome Trust PhD Fellowship [092839/Z/10/Z to M.T.]. Deposited in PMC for immediate release.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Shared mechanism of teratogenicity of anti-angiogenic drugs identified in the chicken embryo model

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Maria Kisakyamaria and Scott McMenemy for preliminary experimental data. This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust-NIH PhD Studentship awarded to SB, WDF and NV (Grant number 098252/Z/12/Z). This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The teratogenic effects of thalidomide on limbs

Acknowledgements Thanks to members of the Thalidomide Society for helpful discussions on thalidomide-induced limb damage. Funding The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research in the lab has previously been sponsored by Wellcome Trust, Royal Society and University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPostprin