A multisystemic disease caused by adulterated rapeseed oil.

Intoxication caused by adulterated rapeseed oil was observed in Madrid (Spain) and adjacent areas in the spring of 1981. The toxic syndrome affected about 25,000 people. Thereafter a multisystemic disease developed that has caused about 600 deaths and 300 invalids. Although almost all organs of the body are affected, the peripheral nervous system shows the most severe alterations. Today, seven years after the onset of the disease, nothing is yet known about the etiopathogenesis or the nature of the causative agent.