INTRODUCTION Although mefloquine use is known to be associated with a risk of severe neuropsychiatric adverse reactions that are often preceded by prodromal symptoms, specific combinations of neurologic or psychiatric reactions associated with mefloquine use are not well described in the literature. This study sought to identify a distinct neuropsychiatric syndrome class associated with mefloqu...

Antidepressants, prescribed as first line treatment of neuropathic pain, have a limited efficacy and poorly tolerated side effects. Because recent studies pointed out the implication of astroglial connexins (Cx) in both neuropathic pain and antidepressive treatment, we investigated whether their blockade by mefloquine could modulate the action of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline. Usin...

Malaria is a serious public health problem. More than 100 tropical and sub-tropical countries are endemic for malaria. Pregnant women and children are the most sensitive to this disease and more than 750 000 people die of malaria each year. Among the five species of Plasmodium, P. falciparum is the parasite responsible for the most serious form of the disease and it has developed varying degree...

We have used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique to study the effect of mefloquine (Lariam), a commonly used antimalarial drug, on the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) in cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells. We also examined its effects on other Cl(-) channels, i.e., the Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channel and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, to assess th...

We investigated the relationship between mefloquine antimalarial treatment and the outcome of pregnancy in Karen women living in an area along the western border of Thailand where multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum infections are common. Of 3,587 pregnancies investigated, 208 (5.8%) were exposed to mefloquine, 656 (18.3%) to quinine only, and 909 (25.3%) to other antimalarials, and 2,470...

To evaluate the effects of antimalarial drugs on Plasmodium falciparum malaria-associated anemia, we use the area under the curve (AUC) of anemia levels after treatment as an approach to combine their duration and magnitude. The method involves numeric estimation, by trapezoidal rule, of AUC from a plot of deficit in hematocrit levels from 30% (the lower threshold of normal) versus time in anem...

Mefloquine (originally marketed as Lariam) is a neurotoxic quinoline derivative antimalarial drug that is known to cause serious and potentially lasting neuropsychiatric adverse reactions. Since 2013, drug regulators in several jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, have required their mefloquine labels be updated to warn that when used for malaria ...

A case of an acute reversible visual loss in a 10-year-old child who was on mefloquine prophylaxis, and was treated with artesunate-amodiaquine for an acute febrile illness diagnosed clinically as uncomplicated malaria, is reported. On admission the patient could not perceive light and had bilateral papilloedema. She was treated with dexamethasone and recovered her sight gradually over a 21-day...

The pharmacokinetics of the prophylactic dose of mefloquine (Lariam: 500 mg every 4 weeks, with a loading dose of 750 mg on the first week) was studied in six healthy Thai male volunteers. Mefloquine was well tolerated during the study period of 16 weeks. The only side-effects found were nausea and diarrhea in 2 volunteers after the first dose of mefloquine. The mean minimum concentration of me...

OZ277 is a newly developed, fully synthetic endoperoxide antimalarial that we tested against field isolates from Gabon. A comparison of activities of OZ277 with artesunate, mefloquine, and chloroquine showed OZ277 to be highly active against all parasite isolates. Artesunate and mefloquine also showed potent antiparasitic activity, but all isolates were chloroquine resistant.