In January 2008, 10 members of two families associated with an Iraqi soccer club, including several children, were poisoned by cake contaminated with thallium. Four died, including two children. In 2011, a chemist at Bristol-Myers Squibb in New Jersey, Li Tianle, was charged with the murder of her husband. According to an investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, Li Tianle was able to obtain a chemical containing thallium and fed it to her husband. Li was a chemistry student at Beijing University at the time of the highly publicized thallium poisoning of Zhu Ling in 1995 at neighboring Tsinghua University. In 2012 a chemistry postgraduate student at the University of Southampton, UK, was found to be suffering from the effects of thallium and arsenic poisoning after presenting with neurological symptoms. The student underwent an intensive course of treatment and, although he has shown improvement, faces an uncertain long-term prognosis for the recovery of full locomotion. Urine screening revealed elevated thallium levels in a small number of other members of the chemistry department, though none were at toxic levels. The source of the poisoning remains unknown, and although police investigations were fruitless, foul play is strongly suspected. In 2018, authorities charged Yukai Yang, a student at Lehigh University, with the attempted murder of his roommate, Juwan Royal. Yang allegedly poisoned Royal with thallium and possibly other chemicals. Royal experienced vomiting, pain and numbness in his lower extremities, and a long-lasting burning sensation on his tongue.
Mietens syndrome is a autosomal recessive disorder first described by Mietens and Weber. The condition is named after a German physician named Carl Mietens.Only 9 cases have been reported. Symptoms and signs
Intellectual disability
Flat feet
Crossed eyes
Severe postnatal growth retardation
Nystagmus
Narrow nose
Short forearm bones
Absent proximal radial epiphyses
Autosomal recessive inheritance
Dislocated radial head
Sclerocornea has been reported in this condition. History
In 1966, Carl Mietens and Helge Weber reported  cases of four children, 3 sisters and 1 brother. Who suffered from a cluster of congenital anomalies and mental retardantion.In 2006, two documented has been reported. == References ==