THE EFFICACY of quinacrine hydrochloride ("atabrine") in the suppression and treatment of malaria has been demonstrated unequivocally by the experience in both civilian laboratories and the armed forces in recent years. The qualities which make it preferable to quinine as an antimalarial agent are now well recognized,1 and it seems certain that it will be used widely in the future. For the latter reason, a note of caution is warranted concerning the use of quinacrine hydrochloride in the termination of therapeutic malaria in patients with dementia paralytica.
Toxic psychoses have been previously described as occurring in patients receiving therapeutic doses of quinacrine hydrochloride for clinical malaria, more particularly when medication is administered parenterally.2 However, the incidence of this phenomenon is low in otherwise normal persons.
Convulsive seizures are not infrequent in experiments with animals receiving toxic doses of quinacrine hydrochloride. However, their occurrence during the administration of the