Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start within an hour of exposure, and can last for several months. Early symptoms are usually nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. In the following hours or weeks, initial symptoms may appear to improve, before the development of additional symptoms, after which either recovery or death follow.ARS involves a total dose of greater than 0.7 Gy (70 rad), that generally occurs from a source outside the body, delivered within a few minutes. Sources of such radiation can occur accidentally or intentionally. They may involve nuclear reactors, cyclotrons, certain devices used in cancer therapy, nuclear weapons, or radiological weapons. It is generally divided into three types: bone marrow, gastrointestinal, and neurovascular syndrome, with bone marrow syndrome occurring at 0.7 to 10 Gy, and neurovascular syndrome occurring at doses that exceed 50 Gy. The cells that are most affected are generally those that are rapidly dividing. At high doses, this causes DNA damage that may be irreparable. Diagnosis is based on a history of exposure and symptoms. Repeated complete blood counts (CBCs) can indicate the severity of exposure.Treatment of ARS is generally supportive care. This may include blood transfusions, antibiotics, colony-stimulating factors, or stem cell transplant. Radioactive material remaining on the skin or in the stomach should be removed. If radioiodine was inhaled or ingested, potassium iodide is recommended.
Vorinostat (rINN) also known as Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid  (suberoyl+anilide+hydroxamic acid abbreviated as SAHA) is a member of a larger class of compounds that inhibit histone deacetylases (HDAC). Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDI) have a broad spectrum of epigenetic activities. Vorinostat is marketed under the name Zolinza ( zoh-LIN-zə) by Merck for the treatment of cutaneous manifestations in patients with cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) when the disease persists, gets worse, or comes back during or after two systemic therapies. The compound was developed by Columbia University chemist Ronald Breslow and Memorial Sloan-Kettering researcher Paul Marks

Medical uses
Vorinostat was the first histone deacetylase inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CTCL on October 6, 2006. It also failed to demonstrate efficacy in treating acute myeloid leukemia in a phase II study. Mechanism of action
Vorinostat has been shown to bind to the active site of histone deacetylases and act as a chelator for zinc ions also found in the active site of histone deacetylases. Vorinostats inhibition of histone deacetylases results in the accumulation of acetylated histones and acetylated proteins, including transcription factors crucial for the expression of genes needed to induce cell differentiation. It acts on class I, II and IV of histone deacetylase. Clinical trials
Vorinostat has also been used to treat Sézary syndrome, another type of lymphoma closely related to CTCL.A recent study suggested that vorinostat also possesses some activity against recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, resulting in a median overall survival of 5.7 months (compared to 4–4.4 months in earlier studies).