Which of the following poisoning presents
with abdominal pain, diarrhea, Mees line
on nails and myelosuppression:
September 2011
a) Lead
b) Arsenic
c) Alcohol
d) Mercury
Correct Answer - B
Ans. B: Arsenic
In chronic arsenic poisoning, a classical state of ill health results are
represented by 4 stages. First stage of nutritional and
gastrointestinal disturbances (diarrhoea is common)
Third stage (of skin rashes) shows white bands known as Mees line
crossing the nail of fingers and toes
In addition to this, there may be evidence of liver damage, kidney
damage and bone marrow depression at some stage Arsenic
poisoning
Increased levels of the element arsenic in the body.
Arsenic interferes with cellular longevity by allosteric inhibition of an
essential metabolic enzyme.
Symptoms of arsenic poisoning include headache, confusion,
convulsion, diarrhea, vomiting, and in severe case coma and death
Routes of exposure include contaminated water, air, and food.
Occupational exposure to arsenic may occur with copper or lead
smelting and wood treatment and among workers involved in the
production or application of pesticides
Symptoms of arsenic poisoning begin with headaches, confusion,
severe diarrhea, and drowsiness.
As the poisoning develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail
pigmentation called leukonychia may occur.
When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include
diarrhea, vomiting, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss,
stomach pain, and more convulsions.
The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic
poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver.
Chronic arsenic exposure can remain in the body systems for a
longer period of time than a shorter term or more isolated exposure
and can be detected in a longer time frame after the introduction of
the arsenic, important in trying to determine the source of the
exposure.
Hair is a potential bioindicator for arsenic exposure due to its ability
to store trace elements from blood.
Incorporated elements maintain their position during growth of hair.
Thus for a temporal estimation of exposure, an assay of hair
composition needs to be carried out with a single hair
which is not possible with older techniques requiring homogenization
and dissolution of several strands of hair.
This type of biomonitoring has been achieved with newer
microanalytical techniques like Synchroton radiation based X ray
fluorescence (SXRF) spectroscopy and Microparticle induced X ray
emission (PIXE).
Dimercaprol and dimercaptosuccinic acid are chelating agents which
sequester the arsenic away from blood proteins and are used in
treating acute arsenic poisoning.
The most important side effect is hypertension.
Dimercaprol is considerably more toxic than succime