Mefloquine is being used as malaria prevention by Plasmodium Falciparum in chloroquine-resistant zones. We describe a woman who developed a manic episode with psychotic symptoms during mefloquine treatment.

A 26-year-old Spanish woman had been working in Mali for the last six months and had started antimalarial prevention with mefloquine. In Mali, the clinical picture had a sudden debut and she related: excessive happiness, incapacity to sleep, and megalomania (she believed to have special powers and to be the mother of all the children). She was admitted in a hospital in Mali for seven days and received treatment with haloperidol and chlorpromazine. Then, she was repatriated to Spain without treatment and she continued suffering the same symptoms. After 15 days, she went to our hospital and she was admitted. Treatment started with risperidone (up to 6 mg/day) and clonazepam (up to 1.5 mg/day). At admission Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) was 25 points. Physical examination and complementary tests were normal, and was orientated as a manic episode with psychotic symptoms secondary to mefloquine. She had a quick symptomatic improvement (after 7 days of treatment YMRS was 5 points) and was discharged after 15 days.

Mefloquine more frequent adverse neuropsychiatric effects are: dizziness, vivid dreams and insomnia. Others are confusion, and auditory hallucinations. Side effects are dose dependent. Psychotic symptoms are frequently auto-limited when mefloquine is suppressed but treatment with atypical antipsychotics is often needed. MDR1/ABCB1 polymorphisms may play a role in neuropsychiatric side effects

Mefloquine is being used as malaria prevention by Plasmodium Falciparum in chloroquine-resistant zones. We describe a woman who developed a manic episode with psychotic symptoms during mefloquine treatment.

The case describes a 26-year-old Spanish woman who had been working in Mali for the last six months and had started antimalarial prevention with mefloquine. In Mali, the clinical picture had a sudden debut and she related: excessive happiness, incapacity to sleep, and megalomania (she believed to have special powers and to be the mother of all the children). She was admitted in a hospital in Mali for seven days and received treatment with haloperidol and chlorpromazine. Then, she was repatriated to Spain without treatment and she continued suffering the same symptoms. After 15 days, she went to our hospital and she was admitted. Treatment started with risperidone (up to 6 mg/day) and clonazepam (up to 1.5 mg/day). At admission Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) was 25 points. Physical examination and complementary tests were normal, and was orientated as a manic episode with psychotic symptoms secondary to mefloquine. She had a quick symptomatic improvement (after 7 days of treatment YMRS was 5 points) and was discharged after 15 days.

Mefloquine more frequent adverse neuropsychiatric effects are: dizziness, vivid dreams and insomnia. Others are confusion, and auditory hallucinations. Side effects are dose dependent. Psychotic symptoms are frequently auto-limited when mefloquine is suppressed but treatment with atypical antipsychotics is often needed. MDR1/ABCB1 polymorphisms may play a role in neuropsychiatric side effects.

Against a backdrop of increasing research, clinical and taxonomic attention in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), evidence suggests a link between NSSI and eating disorders (ED). The frequency estimates of NSSI in ED vary widely. Little is known about the sources of this variation, and no meta-analysis has quantified the association between ED and NSSI.

Using random-effects meta-analyses, meta-regression analyses, and 1816–6466 unique participants with various ED, we estimated the weighted average percentage of individuals with ED, those with anorexia nervosa (AN) and those with bulimia nervosa (BN) who are reported to have a lifetime history of NSSI across studies. We further examined predictors of NSSI in ED.

The weighted average percentage of patients with a lifetime history of NSSI was 27.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.8–31.0%] for ED, 21.8% (95% CI 18.5–25.6%) for AN, and 32.7% (95% CI 26.9–39.1%) for BN. The difference between BN and AN was statistically significant [odds ratio (OR) 1.77, 95% CI 1.14–2.77, p = 0.013]. The odds of NSSI increased by 24% for every 10% increase in the percentage of participants with histories of suicide attempts (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04–1.48, p = 0.020) and decreased by 26% for every 10% increase in the percentage of participants with histories of substance abuse (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58–0.95, p = 0.023).

In the specific context of ED, NSSI is highly prevalent and correlates positively with attempted suicide, urging for NSSI-focused treatments. A novel finding is that NSSI is potentially antagonized by substance abuse.