Clinical studies on treatment of cerebral malaria with artemether and mefloquine

The authors studied the combined effect of artemether and mefloquine on patients with cerebral malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum . All 13 patients survived. In previous experience with quinine monotherapy on cerebral malaria patients, the mortality rate was 18%. Hence, this drug combination may be superior to quinine in terms of mortality. Artemether when used alone is always associated with a high recrudescence rate. When artemether combined with mefloquine was tested on complicated malaria patients there was no recrudescence. In this study, also, there was no recrudescence. Hence, the authors believe that the combined use of artemether and mefloquine can prevent recrudescence of P. falciparum malaria.