title: [Arsenic - Poison or medicine?].
abstract: Arsenic (As) is commonly known as a poison. Only a few people know that As has also been widely used in medicine. In the past years As and its compounds were used as a medicine for the treatment of such diseases as diabetes, psoriasis, syphilis, skin ulcers and joint diseases. Nowadays As is also used especially in the treatment of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has recognized arsenic as an element with carcinogenic effect evidenced by epidemiological studies, but as previously mentioned it is also used in the treatment of neoplastic diseases. This underlines the specificity of the arsenic effects. Arsenic occurs widely in the natural environment, for example, it is present in soil and water, which contributes to its migration to food products. Long exposure to this element may lead to liver damages and also to changes in myocardium. Bearing in mind that such serious health problems can occur, monitoring of the As presence in the environmental media plays a very important role. In addition, the occupational risk of As exposure in the workplace should be identified and checked. Also the standards for As presence in food should be established. This paper presents a review of the 2015 publications based on the Medical database like PubMed and Polish Medical Bibliography. It includes the most important information about arsenic in both forms, poison and medicine.
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Zdrowia Publicznego w Bytomiu, Zakład Profilaktyki Chorób Żywieniowozależnych / School of Public Health in Bytom, Department of Nutrition Related Prevention). karolina_kulik@interia.pl.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kulik-Kupka
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Zdrowia Publicznego w Bytomiu, Zakład Profilaktyki Chorób Żywieniowozależnych / School of Public Health in Bytom, Department of Nutrition Related Prevention).
authors.forename: Aneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koszowska
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Zdrowia Publicznego w Bytomiu, Zakład Profilaktyki Chorób Żywieniowozależnych / School of Public Health in Bytom, Department of Nutrition Related Prevention).
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brończyk-Puzoń
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Zdrowia Publicznego w Bytomiu, Zakład Profilaktyki Chorób Żywieniowozależnych / School of Public Health in Bytom, Department of Nutrition Related Prevention).
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu w Katowicach, Zakład Kinezjologii / School of Health Sciences in Katowice, Department of Kinesiology).
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gwizdek
authors.affiliation: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach / Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Wydział Zdrowia Publicznego w Bytomiu, Zakład Profilaktyki Chorób Żywieniowozależnych / School of Public Health in Bytom, Department of Nutrition Related Prevention).
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zubelewicz-Szkodzińska
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001151:Arsenic / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011042:Poisons / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011044:Poland; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011042:Poisons; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: apoptosis; arsenic; arsenic trioxide; medicine; neoplastic diseases; poison