Exploring the Interplay between Arsenic and Cutaneous Physiology, Pathology, and Regeneration

Abstract

Arsenic poisoning and groundwater exposure are not regional hazards; we can call them a “silent global hazard.” The victims are not always aware of arsenic-exposed daily life and the use of contaminated groundwater. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that several countries, including Bangladesh, India, Argentina, Chile, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Pakistan, China, the United States of America (USA), and Mexico, have inorganic arsenic naturally present at high levels in the groundwater. Many of these countries exceeded the typical toxic risk index of arsenic level of the WHO standard of 10 μg L−1. The skin is the primary barrier of the body, and compromising the function of the skin is the beginning of psychosocial and physiological discomfort in humans. Hair loss, skin pigmentation, and skin irritation are the leading psychosocial and physiological facts induced by exposure to arsenic contamination. Like hair, nails are susceptible to external harm from arsenic because they may absorb and accumulate arsenic in vitro. The normal architecture of the skin changes to form epithelial hyperplasia, epidermal erosion, hyperkeratosis, degeneration of skin glands, and gradual replacement of hair shaft to keratinized substance. The extreme condition of arsenic exposure ultimately result in various skin carcinomas and alopecia.