Digest Number 1211

[Guest guest]

Our health and Drug corp profits are poles apart

 

There are many different views on what works and what does not I profess no

medical expertise (glad I did not sell my soul to pharma Corp) but how long

will we all suffer before we turn back to nature. Most of our present day

problems are (IMO) CAUSED BY LACK OF NATURAL substances and TOO MUCH

processed chemicals sold as food, water or drugs.

 

Colloidal Gold in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Peter B. Himmel, Jorge D. Flechas, Guy E. Abraham

 

Gold salts (aurothiolates) once the primary therapy for active RA has in

recent years declined in its use because of apparent lack of long term

efficacy, toxic side effects, and delayed onset of action. One of us (GEA)

postulated that the active ingredient in aurothiolates is colloidal gold

generated by in vivo disproportionation with subsequent clustering of

monoatomic gold, and that the side effects were due to the aurothiolates

themselves and the trivalent cationic gold generated from the

disproportionation. If this postulate is valid one would expect colloidal

gold to have therapeutic effects in RA and devoid of side effects.

 

Methods:

 

10 patients (6 female, 4 male; average age 50 +/- 3.16 (SE) with long

standing erosive RA ( 9 of 10 seropositive) were given an oral dose of 30 to

60 mg a day of colloidal gold (Aurasol-tm) for a period of 1 month. Clinical

exams were performed weekly and laboratory studies done on weeks 1, 2, 4.

Gold toxicity was evaluated by questioning the patient as to pruritus,

rashes, oral ulcers, metallic taste, GI disturbance. The blood was checked

for a drop in WBC, Hb, platelet count, BUN, creatinine or eosinophil

elevation; and urine for proteinuria. Efficacy was evaluated by an 86 Joint

Count Index scoring for joint tenderness and swelling: AM stiffness; the

Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQII) by T. Pincus and an ESR.

 

Results:

 

Statistically significant improvement were found on each weekly exam for

joint tenderness and swelling beginning with the first week 58.8 to 18.2

(p<0.01) for tenderness; 42.5 to 15.9 (p<0.01) for swelling. Joint swelling

reduced further to a value of 13.0 (p<0.001) by week 4. Patients fatigue

decreased from 5.32 to 3.35 (p<0.05) over the month and a feeling of

satisfaction in ones ability to do activities was apparent after 1 week, 3.1

to 2.5 (p<0.01) and persisted. No laboratory tests indicative of gold

toxicity were noted. One patient reported 2 chancre sores which cleared

while on therapy, 8 of 10 patients responded to colloidal gold.

 

Conclusion:

 

In this pilot study colloidal gold was found to be rapid acting (within one

week) by reducing joint tenderness and swelling, without side effects,

improved ones feeling of satisfaction in the ability to perform activities

and reduce fatigue in 8 out of 10 patients with long standing erosive RA.

The study will continue for one year. More definitive controlled trials

should now be undertaken with colloidal gold.

 

 

Note:

The study has now completed its eighth month with all ten of the original

patients still enrolled. The patients continue to do well with no

significant side effects noted. This data is being compiled to be submitted

for publication.

 

Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis:

Rationale for the Use of Colloidal Metallic Gold

 

Guy E. Abraham MD FACN1 and Peter B. Himmel MD2

1Optimox Corporation, Torrance, CA, USA and 2 Himmel Health, Wakefield, RI,

USA

 

In Press - J. Nutr. Med., Vol. 7 - Dec. 1997

 

Abstract

 

To test this postulate, 10 RA patients with long standing erosive bone

disease not responding to previous treatment, were recruited from a private

practice. Clinical and laboratory evaluation were performed prior to oral

administration of 30 mg of colloidal metallic gold daily, and thereafter

weekly for 4 weeks and monthly for an additional 5 months. There was no

clinical or laboratory evidence of toxicity in any of the patients.

 

The effects of the colloidal gold on tenderness and swelling of joints were

rapid and dramatic, with a significant decrease in both parameters after the

first week, which persisted during the study period. The mean scores for

tenderness and swelling were respectively for the pre-and post- 1 week =

58.8 and 18.2 (p<0.01); and 42.5 and 15.9 (p<0.01).

 

By 24 weeks of gold administration, the mean scores were 10 times lower than

pre-treatment levels being respectively 5.4 and 3.3 for tenderness and

swelling. As a group, there were significant improvement of functional

status after 24 weeks of gold therapy: 3 patients were in clinical remission

and one patients status improved from totally disabled to full-time work.

Evaluated individually, 9 of 10 patients improved markedly after 24 weeks of

colloidal gold at 30 mg/day. Cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumor

necrosis factor (TNFa) were significantly suppressed by the colloidal gold

with pre- and post-24 week mean values of 270 and 104 (p<0.05) for IL-6; and

207 and 74 (p<0.05) for TNFa. The results of this open trial in 10 patients

with long standing erosive RA not responding to previous treatment support

the postulate that colloidal gold is indeed the active ingredient in

aurothiolate therapy, and that the side effects are mainly due to the

trivalent gold (AU III) generated by oxydation of AU I. Colloidal metallic

gold could become an effective and safte alternative to the aurothiolates in

the management of RA patients. Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, colloidal

metallic gold.

 

Introduction

 

Aurothiolates have been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

since their introduction by Forestier in 1929 (1). In a follow-up

publication, Forestier reported that the only forms of gold effective in the

management of RA were organic compounds containing monovalent cathionic gold

(AU I) covently bound to a sulfur moiety (aurothiolates), and given by

weekly intramuscular injection to achieve a total cummulative dose of 2.5 to

3 gm (2). He stated that colloidal gold was ineffective, but did not mention

the dosage, the form of colloidal gold, whether metallic or cathionic,

neither the method of administration. Several subsequent reports by various

investigators have confirmed the short term efficacy of the parenteral forms

of aurothiolates in RA (3), but in more recently published clinical studies

with the parenteral aurothiolates, several side effects were reported:

Pulmonary damage (4-7), myelotoxicity, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and

anemia (8-12). In a recent longitudinal study of 822 RA patients receiving

parenteral aurothiolate therapy over a 5 year period (13), no statistical

improvement was observed in two outcome variables evaluated: functional

assessment and number of painful joints. In an attempt to minimize the side

effects of injectable gold complexes, an oral preparation was introduced in

1976 (14). However, this preparation caused diarrhea/loose stools in 50% of

the patients, was less effective than the parenteral forms of aurothiolates

and produce the same side effects as the injectable forms of gold salts

although to a lesser extent.

 

If this postulate is valid, one would expect colloidal metallic gold to have

therapeutic effects in RA and devoid of side effects. Metallic gold is

non-toxic, used extensively in dentistry and is widely available in

colloidal form as a nutritional supplement for human consumption. The above

postulate was tested in 10 patients with long standing erosive RA with

minimal to no response to previous treatment. The results obtained support

the postulate that colloidal metallic gold is indeed the active ingredient

in aurothiolate therapy and offer a more effective and safer alternative to

aurothiolate therapy in R.A. patients.