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drug_recall lariamThe Lariam confusion has been a source of controversy following months of questions from veterans groups and members of Congress. First developed by the U.S. Army in the 1970s, Lariam anti-malaria pill was licensed to Hoffmann-La Roche. Becoming approved for use in the U.S. in 1989, growing reports indicate Lariam side effects are serious and possibly deadly.
The surgeon general of the Army told Congress in February 2004 that there is no correlation between the use of Lariam and the recent spike in suicides in combat zones. In just the 12 months through October 2003, the military filled about 45,000 Lariam prescriptions. Defense officials continue to say Lariam side effects are rare, however people that have used Lariam and the people close to them have commented on the radical changes in behavior that occurred after taking Lariam. To the victims and the families of deceased Lariam users, Lariam poisoning may not be as rare as officials claim it is.
The FDA ordered La Roche to provide written warnings with every Lariam prescription in 2003 of the risks of Lariam poisoning in a small number of cases. La Roche has said numerous Lariam studies show severe reactions are rare, occurring in just as few as one in 13,000, but other studies dispute the number of Lariam poisonings that occur. A 2001 study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases reported mild to serious neuropsychiatric reaction occurs in nearly a third of civilians on Lariam.
The Lariam poisoning reports were so disturbing that Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the Pentagon in October 2003 to reassess its continued use of Lariam. The Pentagon will track the number and severity of Lariam adverse reactions, including whether its use may be a factor in suicides. An assistant secretary of defense for health affairs said a panel would be appointed to help design the Lariam poisoning study that could take months or years to complete. Until the study has been finalized, the Pentagon health officials said Lariam would no longer be used in Iraq.
The FDA warns Lariam poisoning effects could include: nausea, difficulty sleeping, bad dreams, severe anxiety, feelings people are against you, hallucinations, depression, unusual behavior, feelings of disorientation, thoughts of suicide, and suicide, which the FDA does not yet know if Lariam is a direct cause. The Pentagon is studying suicides committed in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which includes 21 Army soldier suicides. In addition, the Army has said it is investigating five more deaths in Iraq that might be Lariam poisoning suicides and six deaths among soldiers in Iraq who killed themselves after returning home.
The Pentagon has said all troops that are given Lariam are also given the FDA required Lariam warnings, but attorneys and veteran groups dispute this. Attorneys that represent Lariam poisoning cases allege Roche purposefully buried safety information. Over 25 million people have taken Lariam worldwide and the number of safety concerns has finally forced a closer scrutiny of the drug.
Safety concerns about Lariam anti-malaria pill continues to be raised. After a Fort Carson Green Beret committed suicide weeks after returning home from Iraq, the Defense Department researchers have asked for a blood sample. The soldier was believed to...
The Pentagon announced in late February that it would look into whether a widely-used anti-malarial drug that the Army developed could be causing suicides. The announcement, made to Congress, came as a surprise, since the Pentagon had asserted only one...