The US Food and Drug Administration approved thalidomide and its analogues for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum, in spite of the notoriety of reports of severe birth defects in the middle of the last century. As immunomodulatory drugs, thalidomide and its analogues have been used to effectively treat various diseases. In the present review, preclinical data about the effects of thalidomide and its analogues on the immune system are integrated, including the effects of cytokines on transdifferentiation, the anti-inflammatory effect, immune cell function regulation and angiogenesis. The present review also investigates the latest developments of thalidomide as a therapeutic option for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, skin fibrosis, and ophthalmopathies.
Keywords: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; immunomodulatory drugs; opthalmopathies; skin fibrosis; thalidomide.