subacute myelo-optic neuropathy

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Subacute myelo-optic neuropathy (SMON) is an iatrogenic disease of the nervous system{{cite journal|pmid=15152488 | volume=43 | issue=11 | title=[SMON--a model of the iatrogenic disease] |date=November 2003 | author=Takasu T | journal=Rinsho Shinkeigaku | pages=866–9}} leading to a disabling paralysis, blindness and even death.{{cite news |last= Lenzer |first= Jeanne |title= When a Medical "Cure" Makes Things Much, Much Worse|url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/when-cure-is-cause-180967666/ | date= 2 January 2018|work= Smithsonian |location= Washington, D.C.| access-date= 11 January 2018 }} Its defining manifestation was as an epidemic in Japan during the 1960s: the Japanese government estimated 11,000 were affected; however, the College of Medicine at the University of Tokyo put the number at 30,000, citing a lack of preservation of medical records for longer than five years and a lack of cooperation from doctors as the reasons for the discrepancy.{{cite news |last= Tiranti |first= Dexter | title= The Devil's Alternative |url= https://newint.org/features/1981/01/01/devils| date= 1 January 1981 |work= New Internationalist |location= Oxford| access-date=11 January 2018 }} On August 3, 1978, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the cause of SMON is Clioquinol. Its manufacturer, Ciba-Geigy, has publicly stated that "Medical products manufactured and sold by us have been responsible for the occurrence of [SMON] in Japan, we extend our apologies."

SMON was first observed and diagnosed in Sweden 1966, by the pediatrician and neurologist Olle Hansson.Hansson, Olle: Inside Ciba-Geigy, 1989 Clioquinol was marketed as a prophylaxis to tourist diarrhoea. Dr. Olle Hansson was in the front line, fighting for a ban of clioquinol. Doctors in many countries boycotted Ciba-Geigy for many years. Not until 1985 was the pharmaceutical withdrawn. Dr Hansson died a few months later. The day of his death, May 23, is observed as the Anti-Hazardous Drug Day in several parts of the world.{{cn|date=August 2021}}