Inhibition of reticuloendothelial function by gold and its relation to postinjection reactions.
Br Med J, 1979/7/28;2(6184):235-8.
Williams BD, Lockwood CM, Pussell BA
PMID: 157793
Abstract
A patient with rheumatoid arthritis developed severe exacerbation of symptoms 18 hours after an injection of gold thiomalate (sodium aurothiomalate). Immune complexes were present in his serum and synovial fluid; in the synovial fluid they were associated with intense complement activation. The effect of gold salts on splenic reticuloendothelial function was determined by measuring the clearance of heat-damaged erythrocytes from the circulation. Gold thiomalate (50 mg) substantially delayed clearance in the patient but had no effect in four other patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had not had a postinjection reaction. Severely impaired clearance also occurred in three out of four healthy people given 100 mg gold but they remained asymptomatic. The postinjection reaction may be an immune-complex disease that is triggered in certain patients because gold transiently inhibits reticuloendothelial function.
MeSH terms
Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Complement System Proteins; Gold Sodium Thiomalate; Humans; Immune Complex Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Mononuclear Phagocyte System; Synovial Fluid
More resources
Full text:
Europe PubMed Central; PubMed Central
EndNote: Download