MALARIA DRUG 'TO BLAME FOR DOCTOR TURNING TO HEROIN'

A doctor turned to heroin and was caught shoplifting while suffering
from the side-effects of the anti-malaria drug Lariam, a court was
told yesterday.

Helen Mathews, 27, took a course of tablets while working in Malawi as
part of her medical training, and subsequently suffered from a
depressive illness for more than three years. Her mental condition
declined to the extent that she was unable to cope with the demands of
her training and twice failed her medical exams, Winchester Crown
Court was told. Although she eventually passed and found a position in
Birmingham, she was unable to do what was expected of her and suffered
daily panic attacks.

James Counsell, defending, said: "Lariam had then only just been
introduced. It is now known, but sadly was not known then, that it is
a drug which can cause psychiatric side-effects. It changed this young
lady who was well able to cope with her medical training - she had
already got a 2:1 degree - to someone who could not cope."

Mr Counsell said that Mathews, of Wood Green, north London, had been
unaware that her depressive illness had been caused by the drug. The
depression was not diagnosed until last November. He said she
eventually started taking heroin, which led to a conviction for
possession of the drug, for which she received a conditional
discharge, and shoplifting.

Mathews was caught stealing a watch and clothes worth pounds 136 from
a branch of Marks & Spencer in Southampton last December. She told
officers that when she carried out the shoplifting she had been in a
"haze and a muddle" and could not explain her actions. When
questioned, she gave an incorrect name and date of birth, that of her
sister. She later claimed this was because there had been a road
traffic summons issued against her.

A psychiatrist who examined Mathews concluded it was highly likely
that her judgment at the time would have been significantly impaired
by her depression.

Mathews admitted stealing a watch and clothes and attempting to
pervert the course of justice by giving a false name. The Recorder,
Richard Flowerdew, placed her on probation for 12 months and ordered
her to do 60 hours' community service. He made no finding as to
whether Lariam caused the depression, but said: "It is clear from all
the evidence that what you did in December last year was completely
out of character."

Roche, the manufacturers of Lariam, says one in 10,000 users
experiences serious side-effects, but the Medical Advisory Service for
Travellers Abroad puts the figure at one in 140.