Suspected Lariam links
April 27, 2004DoD, VA to study malaria drug’s side effectsAssociated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will study the side effects of Lariam, a drug given to servicemen to prevent malaria, Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said.
The use of Lariam came up in investigations of murders and murder-suicides involving Fort Bragg soldiers in the summer of 2002, when four soldiers were accused of killing their wives. Two of those soldiers committed suicide immediately and a third killed himself in jail.
The three soldiers who killed themselves had served in Afghanistan, where Lariam is routinely used by U.S. troops. The fourth, who is still awaiting trial, did not serve there.
A November 2002 report by the office of the Army Surgeon General said two of the four soldiers had taken Lariam, but the Army would not say which. The report said Lariam probably did not factor in the killings.
Turner said a subcommittee of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board met two weeks ago to consider ways to study the use of Lariam among service members. A Veterans Affairs spokeswoman said the VA will review the issue but has not issued a report on the study.
Lariam, which is also known as mefloquine, is routinely prescribed to soldiers working in countries where malaria is a problem. Some people have blamed it for causing psychotic reactions, including depression, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide.
http://www.armytimes.com/legacy/new/1-292925-2862062.php
Doctor: Anti-malarial drug may be harmful
In the past six weeks, Dr. Michael Hoffer has treated nine service members who returned from Iraq or Afghanistan unable to walk a straight line or stand still without staggering. Some said objects appeared to spin around them for more than an hour at a time.
A Navy commander and director of the Department of Defense Spatial Orientation Center at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Hoffer believes the problems are linked to a drug called Lariam "known generically as mefloquine" that the military gives to troops to prevent malaria.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has urged the Pentagon to set a timeline for a Defense Department study, announced in March, of negative effects from Lariam and other anti-malarial drugs.
http://www.armytimes.com/legacy/new/0-ARMYPAPER-2980109.php
Suspected Seroquel
According to the AP, Private First Class Steven Green told military
psychiatrists he was angry about the war, desperate to avenge the death of
comrades and driven to kill Iraqi citizens. The AP reports medical records show Pentagon doctors prescribed Green several small doses of Seroquel – a drug to regulate his mood – and directed him to get some sleep. One month after the examination, Green reportedly again told his battalion commander that he hated all Iraqis. He also allegedly threw a puppy from the roof of a building and then set the animal on fire while on patrol. But through it all, he was kept on duty manning a checkpoint in one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq. Through it all, the U.S. military kept him in combat
http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid=10313
Taking SEROQUEL
A bipolar disorder treatment, SEROQUEL for the treatment of depressive episodes and acute manic episodes in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder
What is Seroquel?
Seroquel is an antipsychotic medication. It works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain.
Seroquel is used to treat the symptoms of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression).
Seroquel may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide
Important information about Seroquel
Seroquel is not for use in psychotic conditions that are related to dementia. Seroquel has caused fatal pneumonia or heart failure in older adults with dementia-related conditions.
Stop using Seroquel and call your doctor at once if you have the following symptoms: fever, stiff muscles, confusion, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, uncontrolled muscle movements, symptoms that come on suddenly such as numbness or weakness, severe headache, and problems with vision, speech, or balance.
You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment.
Call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use Seroquel, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment.
Seroquel may cause you to have high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). Talk to your doctor if you have any signs of hyperglycemia such as increased thirst or urination, excessive hunger, or weakness. If you are diabetic, check your blood sugar levels on a regular basis while you are taking Seroquel.
You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Tell your doctor if you have worsening symptoms of depression or suicidal thoughts during the first several weeks of treatment, or whenever your dose is changed.
http://www.drugs.com/seroquel.html
Pfc. Robert A. Guy 26 Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Willards, Maryland Died due to a non-hostile incident near Karma, Iraq, on April 21, 2005 "Any little thing they do is a help," said Ann Guy of Willards, Md., whose son, Marine Pfc. Robert A. Guy, killed himself in Iraq on April 21, 2005 - a month after he was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft with no monitoring.http://www.optruth.org/index.php/images/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2232&Itemid=116
Melissa Hobart, the East Haven native who collapsed and died in June 2004, had enlisted in the Army in early 2003 after attending nursing school, and initially was told she would be stationed in Alaska, her mother, Connie Hobart, said. When her orders were changed to Iraq, Melissa, the mother of a 3-year-old daughter, fell into a depression and sought help at Fort Hood, Texas, according to her mother. "Just before she got deployed, she said she was getting really depressed, so I told her to go talk to somebody," Connie Hobart recalled. "She said they put her on an antidepressant." Melissa, a medic, accepted her obligation to serve, even as her mother urged her to "go AWOL" and come home to Ladson, S.C., where the family had moved. But three months into her tour in Baghdad - and a week before she died - she told Connie she was feeling lost. "She wanted out of there. She said everybody's morale was low," Connie recalled. "She said the people over there would throw rocks at them, that they didn't want them there. It was making her sad." Around the same time, Melissa fainted and fell in her room, she told Connie in an e-mail. She said she had been checked out by a military doctor. The next week, while serving on guard duty in Baghdad, Melissa collapsed and died of what the Army has labeled "natural" causes. The autopsy report lists the cause of death as "undetermined."
Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren 44 Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Armor Cavalry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard La Grande, Oregon Died of non-combat related injuries at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, on January 31, 2005 suicide When Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark C. Warren was diagnosed with depression soon after his deployment to Iraq, a military doctor handed him a supply of the mood-altering drug Effexor.
All three were given antidepressants to help them make it through their tours of duty in Iraq - and all came home in coffins.Warren,44, and Guy, 26, committed suicide last year, according to the military; Hobart, 22, collapsed in June 2004, of a still-undetermined cause.The three are among a growing number of mentally troubled service members who are being kept in combat and treated with potent psychotropic medications - a little-examined practice driven in part by a need to maintain troop strength.Interviews with troops, families and medical experts, as well as autopsy and investigative reports obtained by The Courant, reveal that the emphasis on retention has had dangerous, and sometimes tragic, consequences
On Aug. 7, Robert Ziarnick, 25, was accused of shooting at Greenwood Village police and carjacking a 2005 Acura before fleeing to Cherry Creek State Park. Seven months earlier, Ziarnick used a knife to cut the words "kill me" into his abdomen. His wife told police he had served in Iraq and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
http://www.democraticwarrior.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2798
