Demonstration of antibody activity to clioquinol in sera of experimental rabbits and patients with subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy.

Antibody to clioquinol(5-chloro-7-iodo-8-hydroxyquinoline:CIHQ) was detected by passive hemagglutinating reaction in rabbits receiving a prolonged administration of Emaform which was once a commercial preparation of CIHQ. The antibody was shown to be in the immunoglobulin fractions by separation with a specific immunoadsorbent, and it had relatively broad antigenic specificity. The antibody was also demonstrated in sera from patients who suffered from Subacute Myelo-Optico-Neuropathy (SMON) and from normal healthy individuals. However, its titer and frequency of positive reactors in the former were higher than those in the latter, and the two groups could be differentiated each other in frequency distribution patterns of the antibody proprietors. From these results, we discussed on desirable application of sero-epidemiological study to assessment of effects of chemical pollutants on living systems.