Title: 
Headings: 

 
REVIEW
 
OF
 
ARSENIC
 
POISONING
 
AND
 
ITS
 
EFFECTS
 
ON
 
HUMAN
 
HEALTH
 

I.
 
INTRODUCTION
 

II.
 
SOURCE
 
OF
 
EXPOSURE
 

III.
 
ARSENIC
 
POISONING
 

A.
 
Acute
 
Poisoning:
 

B.
 
Chronic
 
Poisoning:
  

IV.
 
PRIMARY
 
SYMPTOMS
 
AND
 
DIAGNOSIS
 
OF
 
ARSENIC
 
DISEASES
  

Clinical
 
Symptoms:
 

Stages
 
of
 
Clinical
 
Features
 
of
 
Arsenic
 
Toxicity
 

Major
 
Dermatological
 
Signs:
 

(vii)
 
Combination
 
of
 
pigmentation
 
(Melanosis)
 
and
 
nodular
 
rough
 
skin
 
(spotted
 
palmoplanter
 

Minor
 
Dermatological
 
Feature:
 

Other
 
Rare
 
Signs:
 

V.
 
TOXICITY
 
OF
 
ARSENIC
 
TO
 
HUMANS
  

A.
 
Respiratory
 
Effects:
 

B.
 
Cardiovascular
 
Effects:
  

C.
 
Gastrointestinal
 
Effect:
  

D.
 
Hematological
 
Effects:
  

E.
 
Hepatic
 
Effect:
 

F.
 
Renal
 
Effects:
 

G.
 
Dermal
 
Effects:
 

H.
 
Neurological
 
Effects:
 

I.
 
Developmental
 
Effects
 

J.
 
Reproductive
 
Effects
 

K.
 
Genotoxicity
 
Effects
 

L.
 
Mutagenic
 
Effects:
   

M.
 
Immunologic
 
Effect:
 

N.
 
Carcinogenic
 
Effect:
 

O.
 
Cancer
 
of
 
the
 
Respiratory
 
System:
 

P.
 
Cancer
 
of
 
the
 
Skin:
 

Q.
 
Biochemical
 
Effects
 

VI.
 
TRANSFORMATION
 
OF
 
ARSENIC
 
IN
 
THE
 
BODY
 

VII.
 
HOW
 
ARSENIC
 
AFFECT
 
OR
 
DESTROY
 
THE
 
BODY
 
ENZYMATIC
 
SYSTEM
 

1st
 
step.
 

Step
 
2
 

VIII.
 
REMEDY
 
FOR
 
ARSENICOSIS
 


 
Acute
 
Arsenic
 
Poisoning
 

B.
 
Chronic
 
Arsenic
 
Poisoning
 

IX.
 
PREVENTION
 
OF
 
ARSENIC
 
POISONING
 
IN
 
HUMANS
 

X.
 
CONCLUSIONS
 

Increasing
 
incidence
 
of
 
arsenicosis-cumulative
 
(1983-97)
 

REFERENCES
 


Content: Minor
 
alternative
 
pathways
 
of
 
entry
 
are
 
known
 
through
 
inhalation
 
and
 
dermal
 
exposure.20
 
Arsenic
 
is
 
a
 
protoplastic
 
poison
 
due
 
to
 
its
 
effect
 
on
 
sulphydryl
 
group
 
of
 
cells
 
interfering
 
with
 
cells
 
enzymes,
 
cell
 
respiration
 
and
 
mitosis.55
 
Chronic
 
arsenical
 
poisoning
 
and
 
medicinal
 
use
 
of
 
arsenic
 
are
 
known
 
since
 
long. Arsenic
 
was
 
used
 
orally
 
as
 
Fowler's
 
solution
 
in
 
tonic
 
mixtures
 
and
 
in
 
the
 
treatment
 
of
 
asthma,
 
leukaemia
 
and
 
other
 
malignancies.73,
 
141
 
Parenterally
 
arsenic
 
was
 
used
 
in
 
the
 
past
 
for
 
the
 
treatment
 
of
 
syphillis82,
 
topical
 
eosinophilia76,
 
trepanosomiasis84,
 
88,
 
Lichen
 
planus,
 
verruca
 
planum
 
and
 
psoriasis.54
 
Domestic,
 
agricultural
 
and
 
industrial
 
uses
 
of
 
arsenic23
 
in
 
the
 
form
 
of
 
insecticides,
 
weedicides,
 
rodenticides
 
and
 
arsine
 
are
 
becoming
 
rarer
 
because
 
of
 
advent
 
of
 
low
 
toxic
 
pesticides. Chronic
 
hepatitis
 
and
 
hepatic
 
cirrhosis
 
have
 
been
 
described
 
due
 
to
 
consuming
 
arsenic
 
contaminated
 
beer.108,
 
138
 
Non-dermatological
 
features
 
of
 
chronic
 
arsenical
 
poisoning
 
by
 
consuming
 
arsenic
 
contaminated
 
drinking
 
water
 
were
 
first
 
reported
 
in
 
1961
 
by
 
Tseng
 
et
 
al., in
 
Taiwan126,
 
followed
 
by
 
Rosenberg109
 
at
 
Chile
 
by
 
Datta
 
in
 
India26. Saha's
 
report112
 
is
 
the
 
first
 
report
 
in
 
world
 
literature
 
of
 
chronic
 
arsenical
 
dermatosis
 
from
 
consuming
 
arsenic
 
contaminated
 
tube
 
well
 
water. Nowadays,
 
it
 
is
 
generally
 
acknowledged
 
that
 
different
 
species
 
of
 
an
 
element
 
can
 
exert
 
diverse
 
toxicological
 
and
 
biological
 
effects
 
in
 
animal
 
and
 
human
 
system.64
 
This
 
obviously
 
also
 
applies
 
to
 
compounds
 
whose
 
toxicity
 
greatly
 
varies. The
 
inorganic
 
forms
 
of
 
arsenic
 
exhibit
 
the
 
highest
 
toxicity
 
level40,
 
while
 
organoarsenicals
 
are
 
usually
 
less
 
toxic
 
than
 
the
 
inorganic
 
arsenic
 
species. Indeed,
 
some
 
organic
 
arsenic
 
compounds,
 
such
 
as
 
arsenobetaine
 
(AsBet)
 
and
 
arsenocholine
 
(AsChol),
 
are
 
well
 
tolerated
 
by
 
living
 
organisms
 
41,101. From
 
this
 
point
 
of
 
view,
 
it
 
is
 
becoming
 
increasingly
 
important
 
that
 
the
 
various
 
forms
 
of
 
arsenic
 
be
 
qualitatively
 
and
 
quantitatively
 
determined
 
in
 
biological
 
fluids
 
and
 
tissue
 
as
 
well
 
as
 
in
 
matrices
 
of
 
nutritional
 
and
 
environmental
 
relevance,
 
especially
 
in
 
marine
 
ecosystem. This
 
will
 
allow
 
for
 
a
 
much
 
better
 
assessment
 
of
 
the
 
risk
 
associated
 
with
 
exposure
 
to
 
arsenic
 
compounds.