The Strange History of Lariam

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January 14, 2014 | 6 Comments

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  1. Question1:
    There were Phase III Trials in Brazil and Thailand. They “probed” and tested Mefloquine on Children and Adults in these Countries.
    Childrens in Thailand (1982-1984): LINK http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2490838/pdf/bullwho00073-0088.pdf
    Adullts in Brazil (Beginning of the 80`s?): LINK http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2536431/pdf/bullwho00086-0181.pdf

    Question2:
    I dont understand that question, please specify more/better (sorry…i am native german)

    Question3:
    Of course it play a part related to PTSD. Dr.Remington Nevin doing a lot of Science in this and also published already a lot of Documents about it.

    Question4:
    Difficult to Say. The responsible part is the FDA in US and the EMA for Europe. And ROCHE of Course.
    In Early years was maybe no other choice for Prophylaxis for some Areas than Mefloquine.

    I doing a reasearch exactly in this part of Question4.
    More Info here: http://www.nebenwirkung-suizid.de/Documents/psur_ws_de_h_psur_0022_001.html

  2. You can bet Lariam is not irrelevant to the epidemic of suicides by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Several veterans organizations including Iraq Vets Against the War have circulated information warning soldiers about this drug. So has the Lariam Action group:

    http://www.ivaw.org/resources/lariam

    http://www.lariaminfo.org

    It’s also been implicated in a number of wartime atrocities, possibly including Sgt. Robert Bales’ 2012 rampage that killed 16 Afghan villagers, and an earlier case of murder by Canadian troops in Somalia. (Of course, against the background of a brutal war of occupation, it can all be hard to sort out … conveniently for the military brass.)

    Not to mention violence in civilian life. Lariam was implicated in at least one murder trial as early as 2003. Anthony Mertz, a Marine Corps veteran attending Eastern Illinois University, was convicted of brutally murdering fellow student Shannon McNamara, a neighbor he barely knew. Mertz had his problems, but he’d never been violent before being dosed with Lariam – and he did his Marine Corps stint in the “peacetime” period between the two Mideast wars. His lawyers raised the Lariam issue fairly late in the trial in an effort to spare him the death penalty.

    The jury didn’t buy it, and sentenced Mertz to death. No doubt they were swayed by the brutality of the crime and their sympathy for the young victim. But it didn’t help that Roche steadfastly denied there was any basis for linking Lariam to violence. That left Mertz’ lawyers looking like they were just grasping at straws. The state supreme court turned down his appeal in 2005, dismissing the Lariam evidence as mere speculation. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011, but Anthony Mertz is still serving a natural-life sentence.

  3. Also maybe to mention the Fort Bragg Killings in 2003:
    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-dark-side-of-lariam/

    At the End of this Article is written that:
    “Unlike the U.S., Great Britain, Germany and Australia did not give their soldiers Lariam in Afghanistan, opting instead for those alternatives. But as the United States prepares for the possibility of war with Iraq, some American troops are already being given Lariam.” (2003)

    But in fact that is not true. German Soldiers for sure (and as far i know also UK and Australian Soldiers) was given Lariam in Afghanistan in 2003. Its normal, because this is based of the Malaria-prevention-Recommendation of the WHO and national authorities/Tropical Institutes from that years. Lariam was always the first choice medication. Since 2013 its the third choice for the german troops. (Following the new CSP and Tropical Institute Recommendation from April 2013),

    In this article you will read also about other suicides from civilians.

    The “History” of Documents on http://www.lariaminfo.org starts 2007.
    But there are much more Articles/Documents/Documentations about Suicides also before 2007.
    I just want to mention this, to not forget when its starts and dont let the dead people to be forgotten.

    “The suicide rate after taking Lariam is within the statistical ambient noise (level)” said Roche spokesman Horst Kramer in 2002.
    How cynical is that, please? Even only one dead person should not “within the statistical ambient noise (level).”
    Unacceptable in my opinion. More follow soon…

  4. Phase I testing was done on humans by a company called Bio-med, Inc. in College Park, Maryland under the direction of Kevin G. Barry, MD.

  5. This document from WHO in 1989 might be interesting to those searching the history of mefloquine/Lariam. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/malaria/WHO_MAL_89.1054.pdf
    It is on the Research page at http://www.lariaminfo.org.

    We have also posted as a public service a number of FDA drug approval and safety documents.
    http://www.lariaminfo.org/drug-approval-regulatory-documents-3/

    Jeanne Lese, Director
    Mefloquine (Lariam) Action , http://www.lariaminfo.org

  6. I am not military. I took lariam to go to Africa in 1997. I was told the mosquitoes had become resistant to the other drugs. This medication has screwed me up bad and permanently. Any help available for new treatments would be appreciated. 🙏

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