"Chrysotherapy" and "aurotherapy" are the applications of gold compounds to medicine. Contemporary research on the effect of gold salts treatment began in 1935, primarily to reduce inflammation and to slow disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Full Answer
Can gold salts be used for rheumatoid arthritis?
Oct 22, 2007 · Physicians first used injections of gold salts in the early 1900s to ease the pain and swelling associated with arthritis. But treatment came at …
What are the medical applications of gold salts?
Gold salts, usually sodium aurothiomalate, are used almost exclusively in the treatment of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. These disorders may be associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy.51 For this reason, descriptions …
What is gold therapy used for?
Oct 30, 2012 · Most notably, gold compounds (often incorrectly referred to as gold salts) have anti-inflammatory properties. As such, gold can play a role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis, membranous nephritis, and lupus erythematosus. Remember, in its normal state, gold doesn’t affect the body at all.
Is gold an anti-inflammatory?
Gold salts combined with Chloroquine, an anti-malarial, show potential at treating resistant strains of malaria. It has been suggested in Japan that gold salts used for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis particularly gold thioglucose, may also be used for the treatment of bronchial asthma. Types of gold salts. Medical use: Auranofin (UK & U.S.)
What are gold salts used to treat?
Gold salts were mainly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis but have also been tested for other types of rheumatologic diseases, such as psoriatic arthritis (39), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (40), lupus erythematosus (41), or Sjogren syndrome (42).
What disease is gold used to treat?
When is gold treatment used? Gold is used most often to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It is sometimes also used to treat juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
What are gold injections given for?
Gold injections had long been used to treat RA and other inflammatory joint diseases. They had previously been proven successful for many people with RA. Gold treatment was once the norm for treating moderate to severe RA. Its use goes back to the 1920s when gold compounds were treatments for tuberculosis.
How gold is used in medicine?
Gold has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Nowadays, gold compounds contribute to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; gold alloys are used in implants in various fields of medicine; and colloid gold is used in immunogold electron microscopy.
What is the gold standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?
Methotrexate: a gold standard for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
What is the gold treatment for TB?
The usual treatment is: 2 antibiotics (isoniazid and rifampicin) for 6 months. 2 additional antibiotics (pyrazinamide and ethambutol) for the first 2 months of the 6-month treatment period.
What drugs contain gold?
Gold sodium thiomalate is a gold-containing chemical (salt) used in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Other gold salts available include injectable aurothioglucose (Solganal) and oral auranofin (Ridaura).
Is gold anti-inflammatory?
Gold (Au) compounds have been utilized as effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of some inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. However, Au compound use has become limited due to associated high incidence of side effects.
Why did doctors use gold salts?
Physicians first used injections of gold salts in the early 1900s to ease the pain and swelling associated with arthritis. But treatment came at a high cost: The shots took months to take effect and side effects included rashes, mouth sores, kidney damage and occasionally, problems with the bone marrow's ability to make new blood cells.
What is gold salt used for?
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center may have solved the mystery surrounding the healing properties of gold -- a discovery they say may renew interest in gold salts as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Physicians first used injections of gold salts in the early 1900s to ease the pain ...
What did Pisetsky find?
They found that the gold blocked the release of HMGB1 from the nucleus.
What is HMBG1?
HMBG1 is a dual-function molecule, which means that it behaves one way when it's inside the nucleus of a cell, and quite another way when it's released from the cell . Pisetsky says that inside the nucleus, HMGB1 is a key player in transcription, the process that converts genetic information in DNA to its RNA equivalent.
What is self healing material?
Sep. 14, 2017 — Self-healing materials are able to repair autonomously defects, such as scratches, cracks or dents, and resume their original shape. For this purpose, they must be composed of several components ...
Does HMGB1 release in the body?
But when HMGB1 is released from the cell -- either through normal processes or cell death -- it becomes a stimulus to the immune system and enhances inflammation. "Interestingly, HMGB1 is not produced evenly throughout the body," says Pisetsky. advertisement.
Does gold block HMGB1?
They found that the gold blocked the release of HMGB1 from the nucleus. That, in turn, should lessen the amount available to provoke the body's immune system, weakening the inflammatory response. "Basically, keeping HMGB1 corralled inside the nucleus is a good thing, when it comes to arthritis," says Pisetsky.
What is gold salt?
Gold salts are indicated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis that is unresponsive to conventional chemotherapy. Presently, the antiarthritic mechanism of action of gold salts is unknown. The most common hypothesis suggests that the accumulation of gold by macrophages inhibits both phagocytosis and of the activities of lysosomal enzymes Jessop et al (1973). These effects may help suppress the active stage of rheumatoid disease. Used in chronic advanced rheumatoid arthritis, gold salts may prevent further damage to affected joints Baldassare et al (1980). The initial response to oral gold salts requires 3–4 months of treatment, while the initial response to parental gold salts requires 6–8 weeks of administration USPDI (2000). Members of this class include auranofin, aurothioglucose, and sodium aurothiomalate.
How many cases of AA are there in gold salts?
Gold salts have an extraordinarily high frequency of fatal adverse reactions, estimated at 1.6 cases per 10,000 prescriptions. Dose-dependent leukopenia is common, but several dozen cases of AA have been reported. In the IAAAS, exposure to gold salts was the most significant drug association for developing AA, with a relative risk of 29 and an excess risk of 23 cases per 1 million users in 1 week. Spontaneous recovery rarely occurs. Patients have been successfully treated with stem-cell transplantation or immunosuppressive therapy; chelation usually has not been helpful.
Can gold salts cause nephropathy?
Gold salts have previously been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases. In some cases, such treatment causes nephropathy, usually presenting as nephrotic syndrome, caused by membranous glomerulonephritis with immune complex deposits (Davies et al., 1977; Bigazzi, 1999 ). Cases with minimal change nephropathy have also been found. In some studies, up to 5% of patients developed nephrotic syndrome. Proteinuria without fulfilling the criteria for nephrotic syndrome is very common in patients treated with gold salts ( Bigazzi, 1999 ). It usually resolves within a year after treatment is withdrawn ( Hall and Tighe, 1989 ). Similar findings have been shown in rabbits ( Nagi and Khan, 1984 ). Cases of nephrotic syndrome have also been reported after oral ingestion of a tonic containing gold ( Bigazzi, 1999 ). Genetic susceptibility (HLA type) seems to play a major role regarding the risk of developing gold nephropathy ( Bigazzi, 1999 ), which is a well-established condition.
Is gold salt good for neuropathy?
Gold salts, usually sodium aurothiomalate, are used almost exclusively in the treatment of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. These disorders may be associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy.51 For this reason, descriptions of gold neuropathy must be approached cautiously. Also, because the number of case reports is extremely small, the possibility that development of neuropathy is independent of the underlying disease or therapy should be considered. In the most suggestive reports available, a neuropathy has developed coincidentally with gold therapy. 59,68,110,119,126,216 The first symptoms, usually distal limb paresthesias, have appeared both after the first injection of gold and well into a course of prolonged therapy. In some cases, the neuropathy developed in the context of a systemic hypersensitivity reaction.
Is gold salt good for arthritis?
Gold salts have been used in the treatment of human diseases for centuries, and are still an important therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Between 1 and 3% of rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving gold salts develop a reversible autoimmune thrombocytopenia [232 ]. This is associated with the development of antibodies that bind to platelets in ...
Can you take gold salts while pregnant?
Although gold salts were among the first effective treatments for RA and inflammatory arthritis, they are now rarely used due to the development of other disease-modifying agents. In animals, gold salts cross the placenta and can cause congenital abnormalities, including hydrocephaly and hydronephrosis.29 In humans, the data are limited on the use of gold during pregnancy. There is one case report of congenital anomalies occurring in an infant in which the mother was treated with gold salts. 30 Gold therapy should be stopped during pregnancy, although the long half-life of gold salts means that there are usually significant body stores of this medication at the time of pregnancy. This medication is considered to be compatible with breastfeeding.
Can you stop gold salts during pregnancy?
There is one case report of congenital anomalies occurring in an infant in which the mother was treated with gold salts. 30 Gold therapy should be stopped during pregnancy, although the long half-life of gold salts means that there are usually significant body stores of this medication at the time of pregnancy.
What is gold salt?
Gold salts describe ionic chemical compounds of gold . The term, which is a misnomer, has evolved into a euphemism for the gold compounds used in medicine. The application of gold compounds to medicine is called "chrysotherapy" and "aurotherapy." The first reports of research in this area appeared in 1935, primarily to reduce inflammation and to slow disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Most chemical compounds of gold, including some of the drugs discussed below, are not in fact salts. Gold compounds find wide use in electroplating, and as reagents in organic chemistry .
How often is gold given?
Gold drugs can be administered orally or by intramuscular injection, in which case it is administered weekly for approximately three to five months before less-frequent doses begin. Auranofin, in capsule form for oral administration, is marketed under the brand name Ridaura. Sodium aurothiomalate (Gold sodium thiomalate as brands Myocrisin UK, Aurolateor or Myochrysine U.S.) and aurothioglucose (Solganal in U.S.) are administered by injection. Regular urine tests to check for protein (indicating kidney damage) and blood tests are needed.
What is gold therapy?
Gold therapy is used in both adults and children to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions such as psoriatic arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The treatment appears to be most effective when given in the early stages of arthritis, although it may offer benefits to anyone with active joint pain and swelling. 3
How often do you get gold shots?
When available, gold shots were administered as an intramuscular injection of Myochrysine or Solganal to the buttocks or arm in the doctor's office weekly for the first 20 weeks. After that, the treatment frequency was tapered to every three or four weeks. Blood and urine tests were required prior to each gold injection. 3
How long does it take for protein to be detected in urine?
Prior to each treatment, a urine test will be done to check for protein. If positive, you will need to do a 24-hour urine collection. Proteinuria that exceeds 500 milligrams (mg) in 24 hours is an indication that gold therapy should be stopped. 2 .
Who is Carol Eustice?
Carol Eustice is a writer covering arthritis and chronic illness, who herself has been diagnosed with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Scott J. Zashin, MD, specializes in the treatment of rheumatologic and musculoskeletal conditions using both traditional and alternative therapies.
Is gold therapy safe for arthritis?
Due to side effects, the need for close clinical and laboratory monitoring, and the inconvenience of office visits for intramuscular injections, gold therapy is typically only considered if your arthritis does not improve with simpler or safer treatments. 3 .
Can you use gold for arthritis?
The use of gold is mostly reserved for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate methotrexate, other DMARDs, or TNF blockers . However, neither oral nor injectable gold therapy is recommended by the American College of Rheumatology for the treatment of arthritis due to the potential for serious side effects. 5 .
Is gold therapy bad for RA?
Some side effects of gold therapy are serious and a large part of why treatments like other DMARDs and biologic drugs are favored for RA. In fact, side effects lead to about one-third of patients discontinuing treatment before achieving its full effects. 1
Gold treatment
The page is slightly redundant with gold treatment, although the material here is much better on sources. I have done some copyediting.
Anecdotes
As far as I can tell, the use of gold salts in autism as presented in the article is based mainly on anecdotal experiences and speculation. The I-had-one-patient-who-responded argument may work in the casual setting (or an infomercial for that matter), but I think we need to apply more rigor in Wikipedia. Andrew73 00:08, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
Weighing in here
I think perhaps we should think about how we organize the body of knowledge related to biomedical treatment of autism and related neurological disorders.
External links on uses in autism
I moved five of these links to the autism therapies article where they more appropriately belong. Andrew73 17:50, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Links
Good links, to reasonably WP:RS publications, but do they actually add anything to the article, and if so, what, please?