GOLD TO TREAT ASTHMA AND ARTHRITIS

Report #7240

Gold pills treat several conditions such as asthma, arthritis and autoimmune diseases.

In the 1920s, scientists tested many chemicals in an effort to find a cure for tuberculosis. They tried gold and it didn't help to control TB, but TB patients with arthritis reported that it helped to relieve their joint pains. So, 70 years ago, gold injections became a valuable treatment for arthritis, but the injections had serious side effects such as bleeding, anemia, decreased immunity and liver and kidney damage, so many rheumatologist prescribed them only when other drugs failed to work. Recently, gold pills have been used to treat arthritis and asthma successfully and they are much safer than gold injections.

Gold pills have been shown to be more effective and less toxic than methotrexate, the drug that is commonly prescribed for severe asthma and arthritis. Some cases of asthma and arthritis are so severe that people with these conditions need to be treated with cortisone-type drugs that cause significant side effects. Gold pills can markedly reduce the need for cortisone in these people.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News

1) Bernstein, I.L.; Bernstein, D.I.; Bernstein, J.A. How does auranofin compare with methotrexate and cyclosporin as a corticosteroid-sparing agent in severe asthma? Biodrugs. SEP 1997","8","3","205-215","IL Bernstein/Univ Cincinnati/Med Ctr/231 Bethesda Ave/ml 363/Cincinnati, OH 45267 USA".

2) B.; Brodin, U. Auranofin is safe and superior to placebo in elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis. British Journal of Rheumatology. AUG 1997;36(8):870-877. A Glennas/Diakonhjemmet Hosp/Oslo City Dept Rheumatol/POB 23 Vinderen/N-0319 Oslo, Norway",

3) Morgan, S.L.; Baggott, J.E.; Alarcon, G.S.","Methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis - Folate supplementation should always be given","Biodrugs","SEP 1997","8","3","164-175","SL Morgan/Univ Alabama/Dept Med/Sch Med/Uab Stn/Webb 256A/1675 Univ Blvd/Birmingham, AL 35294 USA","Methotrexate is now the disease-modifying antirheumatic drug prescribed most frequently For the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. folic acid should be empirically supplemented in all patients at the initiation of methotrexate therapy.

Reported 10/6/97; Checked 9/5/05