http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2010/10/15/opinion/doc4cb8950925a94960240224.txtJust when you think you have seen it all, another example of “support of the troops” makes itself known. When profit is the motive behind deception, that makes it that much more heinous. This week, let’s look at the anti-malarial drug Lariam.
Lariam was approved by the FDA in 1989 as an anti-malarial drug with production by Roche Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss pharmaceutical company. As a coincidence, Roche gained rights to Tamiflu production from Gilead Pharmaceuticals, chaired by one Donald Rumsfeld (remember this).
As early as 1995, researchers began warning physicians about prescription of Lariam, instructing them to avoid patients with known psychiatric disorders and epilepsy, as there were serious side effects in this subset of patients.
Lariam was widely prescribed to troops going to Iraq and Afghanistan. Reports began surfacing regarding increases in suicides and homicides in troops with no previously diagnosed psychiatric disorders. From 2003 through 2005, Fort Bragg reported multiple cases of suicides, murders and domestic violence-many of which were finally attributed to Lariam. As troops were redeployed, these instances increased. In 2003, Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to review the administration of Lariam due to increasing neuropsychiatric side effects seen in the troops.
The DoD halted the administration of Lariam to troops stationed in Iraq, as the CDC recommendation for this region was mosquito repellant ... no drugs indicated. In Afghanistan, Lariam continued to be administered until 2009 ��” even though medications that had less complications-and were less expensive-had been available the whole time.
As time goes by, the full effects of Lariam remain to be seen. The incidence of suicide is increasing at a rapid rate, as well as aggressive behaviors, homicidal attempts and other neuropsychiatric complications.
Is Lariam yet another cause of the trauma seen by those who served? Don’t let it become another Agent Orange or Depleted Uranium ��” only to be swept under the rug by a careless nation. Insist that our Senators and Representatives act in their constituents’ best interests and sponsor further research by independent medical facilities.
If you have a family member who served in Iraq and Afghanistan after 2001, as well as a family member who may have traveled out of the country who experienced these symptoms, I suggest you educate yourself by visiting
http://www.lariaminfo.org/.Our troops can’t wait forever for a grateful nation to refresh their collective memories.
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