Legal Advice
Mefloquine is an anti-malarial drug marketed under the
name Lariam. Doctors are still unsure exactly how Mefloquine protects a
patient from malaria, but it is generally theorized that it prevents the
malaria parasite from breaking down a substance in the blood called haemin
by making the haemin toxic to the parasite. However it works, it is the most
effective anti-malarial drug on the market, especially in areas where the
malaria parasite has grown resistant to more conventional malaria drugs. At
first it was believed that mefloquine (Lariam) had a low incidence of side
effects, but it turns out that only a fraction of the problems with
mefloquine had been made public. As more travelers come out to tell horror
stories of Lariam experiences, controversy rises about the pros and cons of
taking mefloquine.
Malaria is a serious, sometimes deadly, parasitic infection that is
transmitted through mosquito bites in many tropical regions of the world.
Mefloquine, or Lariam, is the most often prescribed preventative for the
disease. It is very effective at preventing the disease and is usually safe
to take, but the adverse reactions that do occur are debilitating and
possibly fatal. Forty-six people in Britain have already filed suits against
the drug’s manufacturer, Hoffmann-La Roche. Another 150 are in the process
of doing so and more than 500 more have contacted lawyers leading to action.
In America, the first Lariam lawsuit was filed by a 25 year-old Californian
man who claims to have suffered crippling Lariam side effects for nearly 3
years.
The Yellow Card scheme, a system through which doctors abroad file
concerns with the Committee on Safety of Medicines, reported 1505 adverse
reactions to mefloquine between 1990 and 1998. Five of these cases resulted
in death. This seems like a very small number until one considers the
results of a 1996 survey finding that only 10.15% of suspected adverse
mefloquine reactions are reported. The true incidence of negative side
effects could be much higher.
So what are these side effects? Serious side effects to mefloquine
include dizziness, depression, psychosis, epileptic seizures, fits, suicide,
and Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS). SJS is a rare but often fatal skin
disease. A 7 year-old girl died of Stevens Johnson Syndrome just this year
after taking Lariam for a family vacation. According to its own internal
documents, Roche pharmaceuticals has received over 3,000 reports of
psychiatric problems associated with Lariam, from nightmares, depression,
hallucinations, to paranoia, psychosis, and aggression. Lariam was also a
suspected part of the Fort Bragg murders in 1992, when four army officers on
leave from Afghanistan (where they were prescribed Lariam) killed their
wives on an army base in South Carolina. Two of the officers then killed
themselves.
Roche Pharmaceuticals insists that only one in 10,000 patients suffer
debilitating side effects from taking Lariam, but a British survey found
that the number is closer to one in 140. It turns out that Roche defined a
debilitating side effect as one that resulted in death. In fact, it can take
years for the serious side effects, such as seizures and psychotic paranoia,
to wear off. Hundreds of people return from vacations only to be committed
to asylums or sit at home collecting disability checks.
Part of the reason that Lariam is still so widely used is that only about
10% of those suffering from Lariam side effects have spoken up. If you or
someone you love has taken Lariam and experienced any of this, contact a
lawyer immediately and discuss your options. Though Roche Pharmaceuticals
has improved the warnings on its packaging, it still does not own up to the
worst of Lariam’s side effects, and for many years the drug was marketed
without serious warnings at all.
To find out why you need a
Lariam lawyer and read articles about dangerous drugs
and
Lariam side effects, visit our website at
hugesettlements.com.
If you have any questions or concerns about filing a Lariam lawsuit,
please contact a professional
Lariam attorney right away!
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/
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