Mefloquine Alcohol

All reports have suggested that the neuropsychiatric reactions to mefloquine are transient. They may be precipitated by alcohol (18). 

One case history has suggested that the use of alcohol with mefloquine can precipitate a neuropsychiatric reaction (18). 

Other chiral phosphine/transition metal complexes catalyze the hydrogenation of a-pyridyl ketones (to biologicaly active amino alcohols like (/ ,S)-Mefloquine, an antimalarial agent (Hoffmann-La Roche [30]) or of a-benzamide ketones to... 

The broad picture is that mefloquine appears not to worsen the psychomotor effects of moderate amounts of alcohol. Just why an unusual toxic reaction developed in one individual is not known, although mefloquine alone can increase the risk of psychiatric events. It has been postulated that many of the adverse effects of mefloquine are associated with liver damage, and concurrent insults to the liver, such as from alcohol and dehydration, may be related to the development of severe or prolonged adverse reactions to mefloquine. In a review of 516 published case reports of mefloquine adverse effects, 11 cited alcohol as a possible contributing fac-tor. It was suggested that travellers taking mefloquine should avoid alcohol particularly within 24 hours of their weekly mefloquine dose. However, the manufacturers have not issued such a warning. More study is needed. 

Vuimnati EFPM, Mun ewerffND, Uiterwijk MMC, van V gel LMA, Crevoisier C, Haglund L, Kinzig M, O Hanlon JF. Effects of mefloquine alone and with alcohol on psychomotor and driving performance. EurJ Clin Pharmacol ( 996) 50,475-82. 

Mefloquine does not normally appear to interact with alcohol, although excessive alcohol may possibly contribute to its adverse effects on the liver. An isolated report describes two incidents of severe psychosis and depression in a man taking mefloquine who drank large quantities of alcohol. 

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