Neuro-psychiatric effects of antimalarials.

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Published: August 1997

Objective: To study the neuro-psychiatric adverse effects of antimalarial drugs.

Setting: Persons who visited a Travel Clinic in Rotterdam over a period of 3 months.

Design: Prospective cohort study on 394 persons taking mefloquine, 493 persons taking proguanil and 340 persons not taking antimalarial drugs who visited Africa, South America, Asia, or the Middle East.

Methods: All persons received a structured questionnaire within 14 days of their return to the Netherlands. The questionnaire consisted of questions regarding use of alcohol, smoking, general health, medical history, tropical diseases during the trip, and other medicines, and contained an extensive list of general complaints regarding all body systems at four levels of severity. A modified and validated version of the Profile of Mood States was included.

Results: In the study period, 2541 persons visited the Travel Clinic, of whom 1791 (70%) were both eligible and willing to co-operate. Of these 1791, data were obtained from 1501 (84%). Insomnia was most frequently encountered in users of mefloquine and mouth ulcers in proguanil users. After adjustment for gender, age, destination, and alcohol use, the relative risk for insomnia to mefloquine versus non-users of antimalarials was 1.6, and the excess risk was 6 per 100 users over an average period of 2 months. There were no significant differences between groups in depression, anxiety, agitation, and confusion. Stratification by gender demonstrated that insomnia was more common in women on mefloquine, but not in men. Also, women more frequently mentioned palpitations as an adverse event. After adjustment for age, destination, and alcohol use in women, the relative risks for insomnia and palpitations to mefloquine versus non-use of antimalarials were 2.4, and 22.5, respectively. When travellers were specifically asked for the adverse reactions they had experienced, anxiety, vertigo, agitation, and nightmares were significantly more frequently mentioned by mefloquine users.

Conclusion: Insomnia was more commonly encountered during use of mefloquine than proguanil or during non-use of antimalarials.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002280050240DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

persons visited
8
visited travel
8
travel clinic
8
age destination
8
destination alcohol
8
mefloquine versus
8
frequently mentioned
8
non-use antimalarials
8
mefloquine
7
persons
6

Similar Publications

Accuracy and clinical applicability of plasma tau 181 and 217 for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis in a memory clinic cohort.

J Neurol

January 2025

Alzheimer's Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Fundació de Recerca Clínic - Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universitat de Barcelona, Villaroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.

Plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) and 217 (p-tau217) have demonstrated high accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis, defined by CSF/PET amyloid beta (Aβ) positivity, but most studies have been performed in research cohorts, limiting their generalizability. We studied plasma p-tau217 and p-tau181 for CSF Aβ status discrimination in a cohort of consecutive patients attending an academic memory clinic in Spain (July 2019-June 2024). All patients had CSF AD biomarkers performed as part of their routine clinical assessment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed to assess the predictive value of the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) and APACHE II score for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) resulting from wasp stings.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted, including patients who suffered wasp stings and developed ARDS between January 2018 and November 2024 in the Shiyan area of Hubei province. Based on the 28-day prognosis, patients were categorized into two groups: survivors (n = 21) and non-survivors (n = 25).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Conventional medical management, while essential, cannot address all multifaceted consequences of Parkinson's disease (PD). This pilot study explores the potential of a co-designed creative arts therapy on health-related quality of life, well-being, and pertinent non-motor symptoms.

Methods: We conducted an exploratory pilot study with a pre-post design using validated questionnaires.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Parents are important conduits of weight- and health-related messaging. Weight-related communication and approaches to child feeding used by parents may reflect their past experiences with weight stigma and are understudied pathways through which intergenerational weight stigma may be transmitted.

Objective: To examine how experienced and internalized weight stigma among parents of children with higher weights are associated with weight-related communication and the feeding practices they use.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Medicaid managed care network adequacy standards and mental health care access.

Am J Manag Care

January 2025

Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, 575 Lexington Ave, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Email:

Objectives: Medicaid is the largest payer of mental health (MH) services in the US, and more than 80% of its enrollees are covered by Medicaid managed care (MMC). States are required to establish quantitative network adequacy standards (NAS) to regulate MMC plans' MH care access. We examined the association between quantitative NAS and MH care access among Medicaid-enrolled adults and among those with MH conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!