April 5, 2002 – Arsenic, the famous poison that has quietly suppressed more than one life, has gained new acclaim in recent years, to the point where many scientists and doctors are now recognizing its benefits.
Arsenic has long known therapeutic effects. Hippocrates already advocated it in the fight against malaria and syphilis. Chinese medicine advised him against asthma and certain skin diseases. It was also used to treat anemia and tuberculosis.
Currently, it is used to make an injectable medicine that fights sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis), which is triggered by a parasite transmitted to humans by the tsetse fly. However, its use is controversial since it is responsible for the death of 3 to 10% of patients in Africa.1
It has also been shown to be effective in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, a rare type of blood cancer. Administered intravenously, it has produced complete remissions in people with this disease. However, it caused some side effects: headaches, fatigue, skin reactions, gastrointestinal disorders, etc. The remissions obtained have prompted researchers to extend the investigation to other kinds of cancer. Clinical trials are currently being carried out to test the effectiveness of arsenic in lymphoma, cervical cancer and prostate cancer. In China, research is also focused on liver cancer.
In homeopathy, Arsenicum album (arsenious anhydride) may be indicated for gastroenteritis, acute otitis and burning rhinitis and Arsenicum iodatum (arsenic triiodide) acts on the respiratory mucous membranes and the skin.2
Part of the Mendeleev table (atomic number 33), arsenic (As) is almost harmless in its pure state. The same is not true for its compounds, in particular white arsenic (also called arsenic trioxide) which, in high doses, is lethal. Powerful toxic, arsenic can also cause cancers of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidneys, liver and prostate.3
Élisabeth Mercader – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters Health, April 2, 2002.
1. Doctors Without Borders. Sleeping sickness at a glance. [Consulté le 5 avril 2002]. http://www.paris.msf.org/msf/content/informer.nsf/2823d09f5fa83c0a4125672a0054b0e2/2031f544aff50da1c1256a2b004be183?OpenDocument
2. Dictionary of homeopathy. Dr Jacques Boulet. Editions du Rocher. p.49-51. [Consulté le 5 avril 2002].
3. Info Science. Arsenic and old telomerase. [Consulté le 5 avril 2002]. http://www.infoscience.fr/archives/archives_aff.php3?Ref=1447&Type=breves&n=1&pa=0&Recherche=arsenic