Gold And Its Relationship To Neurological/Glandular Conditions

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RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION

Gold And Its Relationship To Neurological/Glandular Conditions

G. s, Ph.D., L. McMillin, M.A.,

A. Mein, M.D., Carl D. , D.C.

Meridian Institute

International Journal of Neuroscience

2002, Volume 112, pages 31-53

[Click here to view this document in Adobe Acrobat format (2.34 MB).]

Abstract

Despite increasing sales of gold supplements, and claims of benefits

for neurological and glandular conditions, gold has received little

attention in modern medical literature except as a drug for rheumatoid

arthritis. Historically, however, gold had a reputation as a

" nervine, " a therapy for nervous disorders. A review of the historical

literature shows gold in use during the 19th century for conditions

including depression, epilepsy, migraine, and glandular problems

including amenorrhea and impotence. The most notable use of gold was

in a treatment for alcoholism developed by E. Keeley, M.D. In

the modern medical literature, gold-containing medicines for

rheumatoid arthritis are known to have occasional neurotoxic adverse

effects. There are also a few studies suggesting a role for gold as a

naturally occurring trace element in the reproductive glands. One

small recent study demonstrated a possible positive effect of gold on

cognitive ability. There is a need for more experimental and clinical

research into the neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of gold, and

exploration of gold's possible role as a trace element.

Gold and its Relationship to Neurological/Glandular Conditions

The modern use of gold-containing medicines focuses primarily on

rheumatoid arthritis, with some recent attention to other

anti-inflammatory uses of gold, and to new anticancer and

antimicrobial gold drugs (Fricker, 1998). Otherwise, in mainstream

medicine, gold has been seen as a metal with little biological

relevance. In contrast, the benefits suggested for gold-containing

supplements, widely available in health food stores and over the

Internet, address a variety of conditions including alcoholism,

depression, and gland function (e.g., http://www.colloidalgold.com,

2001; http://www.topsilver.com, 2001). Is there any support for a

neuropharmacologic effect of gold?

Although there is very little modern research on these applications

for gold, historically one notable use of gold was as a " nervine, " a

substance that could revitalize people suffering from nervous

conditions, what today we would call neurological and psychiatric

disorders such as epilepsy and depression. This paper will review the

historical use of gold as a healing agent for the nervous and

glandular systems, and then look at recent literature pointing to a

biological role in these systems for gold.

Goodwin and Goodwin (1984) in the Journal of the American Medical

Association, have addressed what they term the " tomato effect, "

rejection of highly efficacious therapies. The analogy is with the

long-held belief that tomatoes were poisonous, despite evidence to the

contrary. The tomato effect contrasts with the placebo effect, where a

positive (but spurious) response causes therapies to be accepted which

are later shown to be useless or harmful. The Goodwins use gold as an

example of the tomato effect. The original rationale behind the use of

gold for rheumatoid arthritis was its effectiveness as an antibiotic

for tuberculosis (with the assumption that rheumatoid arthritis was a

related infectious disease). When, by 1945, the infectious theory of

rheumatoid arthritis was discarded, gold therapy fell into disfavor,

despite its proven effectiveness. " Gold started to regain its former

popularity only when the medical community accepted both the evidence

of gold's efficacy and medicine's ignorance of gold's mechanism of

action. The fact that gold now has an unknown mechanism of action ñ is

a truly idiopathic medicine ñ is no longer an impediment to its use,

because rheumatoid arthritis has become an idiopathic disease " (p.

2389).

The intent of this paper is to explore a similar situation for gold

and neurological/glandular disorders. Neither the causes of the

disorders nor the mechanism of gold are known, yet there are reports

pointing to a possible involvement of naturally-occurring gold in the

nervous and glandular systems, and evidence from historical sources of

a possible efficacy of gold in therapy for neurological disorders.

Historical Review of Gold as a Nervine

Gold has a therapeutic history in both Eastern and Western traditions.

Mahdihassan (1985) has explored the historical use of gold in Eastern

traditions. The Chinese were the first to prepare and use red

colloidal gold as the alchemical drug of longevity. The word alchemy

derives from two Chinese words: Kim (gold) and Yeh (juice). Kimyeh

(gold juice) entered the Arabic language as kimiya, and with the

definite article, al, the arabic word for the red colloidal gold was

alkimiya, which in the Western world, gave the word alchemy. The

procedure for the preparation of red colloidal gold is still in use

today in India, prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians for rejuvenation

and revitalization in old age under the name of Swarna Bhasma (red

gold).

There is modern scientific support for at least one effect of Eastern

gold preparations on the nervous system. Bajaj and Vohora (1998)

studied the analgesic activity of gold preparations used in Ayurveda

and Unani-Tibb, two Indian medical traditions. Two calcined gold

preparations were compared to the modern antiarthritis gold drug

auranofin in rats, using four types of noxious stimuli. Both the

Indian drugs and auranofin exhibited analgesic activity. The analgesic

effects of the two Indian drugs could be partly blocked by

pretreatment with naloxone (an opiate antagonist), but not the effects

of the auranofin. The authors feel that this suggests involvement of

an opioidergic mechanism for the Indian drugs.

The use of gold in Western medicine as a nervine has a long history as

well. The medieval alchemists, like their Eastern counterparts, and

probably drawing on the traditions of Eastern alchemy, sought a form

of gold that could be internally consumed, " potable gold, " as the

elixir of life. Paracelsus, in the 16th century, recommended

preparations of gold in his therapy for epilepsy (Temkin, 1971). By

the beginning of the 17th century, alchemists were clearly able to

produce the soluble salt gold trichloride (Higby, 1982). By the mid

17th century, gold was in use as a nervine:

" A gold cordial could be found in the new pharmacopoeias of the 17th

century and was advocated by Culpepper for the treatment of

ailments caused by a decrease in the vital spirits, such as

melancholy, fainting, fevers, and falling sickness [epilepsy] "

(Fricker, 1996). This is notable because it includes a grouping of

what today would be called neurological/psychiatric disorders (e.g.,

depression, epilepsy).

By the beginning of the 19th century, gold had become a recognized

(although probably not very effective) treatment for syphilis, a

disease causing dementia among other serious symptoms. In 1821 the

Frenchman J. A. Chrestien published " Researches and observations on

the effects of preparations of gold in the treatment of many diseases

and notably in syphilitic maladies " (Niel & Chrestien, 1821).

Chrestien was a notable physician of the time, with a degree from the

University of Montpelier, and memberships in the Royal Academy of

Paris, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid, and many other learned

societies. His interest in gold came from the observation that it had

milder side effects than mercury (the common treatment for syphilis at

the time). He was also apparently the first to notice that in

occasional cases treatment with gold produced an increase in vitality

and intellectual faculties, and had a stimulating effect on the glands

and sexual functioning. Chrestien and those who followed him used gold

trichloride as their form of gold.

In 1879, Compton Burnett published a lengthy treatise on the use

of gold in medicine. Burnett was a medical doctor, a homeopath, and a

prolific author (27 books listed in the National Library of Medicine

catalog). Burnett traced the modern use of gold back to Chrestien's

first book in 1811, but gave credit to earlier figures as well. He

noted that the ingestion of gold is mentioned in the Bible (Exodus

32:20), and that the Chinese were using it in 2500 BC, according to

Wiegleb's History of Alchemy in 1777. He traced its use in a diversity

of disorders, including neurological and glandular problems such as

epilepsy, sterility, and diseases of the uterus, to the publication of

De Auri Tinctura sive Auro Potabili Vero, etc. by Glauber in Amsterdam

in 1651. He also noted that, " Hahnemann [ Hahnemann, the

originator of homeopathy] mentions nearly thirty authors (1698-1730)

who praise Gold as a valuable remedy in various diseases such as

melancholiaÖ " (p. 91).

According to Burnett, Chrestien's use of gold was at first opposed by

the medical profession, which had abandoned the use of gold in

medicine. However, after Chrestien's publication, gold regained its

popularity. Burnett cites Legrand's (1828) account, the Medicinal

Properties of Gold, in which he lists 80 medical men of the time, who

became known as " auralists, " who were exploring the use of gold.

Burnett says, " Gold is an excitantÖThe patients feel an indescribable

sense of well-being, they feel themselves lighten (as they express

it), so that we may say that Gold possesses hilariant properties. The

intellectual faculties are more active. It has been known to produce

frequent erotic salacity going on to painful priapism. M Legrand,

however, states that he has not used it as an aphrodisiac, but it has

been used as such with success " (p. 49). Burnett also says, " Some are

of the opinion that Gold belongs to that class of noble metals, such

as silver and copper, which exert a powerful influence on the nervous

system. Of this opinion is Vogt (Pharmaco-dynamik) " (p. 57).

Burnett was also well aware of the toxic effects of high doses of

gold. He identifies himself as a homeopath, but had a different

philosophy than many homeopaths. In traditional homeopathy, the remedy

is an extremely high dilution of a substance, so high that not even a

single molecule remains. It was Hahnemann's alternative to " heroic "

medicine, which involved high doses that were frequently toxic.

Burnett took a middle course, resembling the approach of 20th century

medicine. He preferred low dilutions, as opposed to high ones. Thus

his recommended dosage of gold is 3/100 or 9/100 of a grain. Since a

grain is 65 milligrams, this would range from 1.95 mg to 5.85 mg. This

is very close to the range of daily dose of modern antiarthritic

drugs, e.g., the 6 mg per day (1.74 mg of gold, at 29% gold) standard

dose of auranofin. It seems possible, then, that Burnett did find an

effective dose of gold with relatively low toxicity.

By the end of the 19th century, and in the first half of the 20th

century, gold is listed as a treatment for nervous disorders in

sources ranging from medical texts to the first Merck manual.

In discussing the treatment of asthma, for example, Eichhorst (1886)

in his Handbook of Practical Medicine says, " In nervous individuals,

resort should be had to the nervines: bromide of potassium, valerian,

arsenic, auronatrium chloratum [gold sodium chloride], zinc, copper,

and silver preparations, etc. " (p. 236) Bromide of potassium and

valerian are still used for treatment of nervous disorders, and

arsenic came into use in the early 1900s as a treatment for syphilis,

which has neurological manifestations.

Potter (1894), in his Materia Medica, based on the U.S. Pharmacopoeia

of 1890, describes the effects of small doses of gold: " The Salts of

Gold promote appetite and digestion, stimulate the cerebral functions,

and produce a marked mental exhilaration, a sense of well-being.

Continued, they induce aphrodisiac effects in both sexes, and in women

an increase of the menstrual dischargeÖ.Amenorrhea and Impotence, of

the functional kind, - may be cured by it. " He is also well aware of

the toxic effects of too large a dose, resembling those of mercury,

and including " nausea and vomiting, glandular irritationÖviolent

gastroenteritis, mental disturbance, convulsions, priapism, trembling,

paralysis. " This recognition of both kinds of effects is significant,

since later in this paper the adverse effects of gold will be

discussed as a possible indicator of areas particularly sensitive to

the therapeutic effects of lower doses of gold.

The 1899 Merck's Manual lists gold under " aphrodisiacs " (p. 187). Gold

bromide is an " anti-epileptic, anodyne, nervine, " used for, " epilepsy,

migraine, etc.; said to act, in small doses, quickly and continuously,

without bromism " (p. 38). Bromides, particularly potassium bromide,

were first used as nervines in the mid-19th century, to treat

epilepsy, insomnia, nervous excitement and irritability (Leake, 1975).

They were the first effective anti-seizure medicine. It is not clear

exactly when gold bromide began to be used, but it appears that it was

found to be effective in a smaller dose than potassium bromide used

alone. For example, the standard dose of gold bromide was given in

Merck's Manual as 1/10 to 1/5 grain, 2 to 3 times daily. This can be

contrasted with a standard dose of potassium bromide, of 5 to 60

grains (Garber, 1942), or of sodium bromide (10-60 grains, Garber,

1942; 5-30 grains, Dorland, 1908). and Baumann (1999) give modern

guidelines for bromide dosage in epilepsy- might gold bromide allow a

lower dose to be effective?

Hare (1912) in his Text Book of Practical Therapeutics , notes " it

[gold sodium chloride] is said to act as a powerful sexual stimulant

and to be of service in impotence dependent upon inability to obtain

an erection or when there is deficient glandular action " (p. 274).

Page 900 in Hare lists a standard dose of " gold and sodium chloride "

as 1/20 ñ 1/10 grain (3 ñ 6 mg), and " gold bromide " as 1/8-1/2 grain

(8 ñ 30 mg).

Fomon (1920) in his book Medicine and the Allied Sciences, in the

section on Materia Medica and Therapeutics: Agents Producing Changes,

says gold (as chloride of gold sodium) " stimulates the nervous

system, " " stimulates the sexual organs, " and is employed in

therapeutics as an aphrodisiac, an alterative in chronic diseases, and

in the Keeley cure for alcoholism and opiumism.

Even as late as 1942, Stedman's Practical Medical Dictionary (Garber,

1942) lists gold bromide as employed in epilepsy, headache, and as a

nerve sedative. Double chloride of gold and sodium is listed as an

alterative (a medicine that produces a favorable change in the

processes of nutrition and repair, Dorland, 1908) and tonic. Finally,

Stedman's notes the Keeley cure or gold cure, " a secret method of

treatment of alcoholism, said to be by the administration of

strychnine and gold chloride. " Actually, based on Keeley's own

writings (Keeley, 1897), strychnine is unlikely to be a component of

Keeley's cure.

The most interesting use of gold in treatment is the gold cure of

E. Keeley, M.D. (1832-1900). Keeley's great discovery was that

the chloride of gold and sodium (prepared by mixing gold chloride and

sodium chloride) was an effective treatment for addictions, including

morphine/opium and cocaine addiction as well as alcoholism. In the

19th century, a variety of medications were used in an effort to ease

withdrawal symptoms and cure addictions. Most, such as atropine and

strychnine, were so toxic that they were of little use. Even gold

chloride was too caustic for internal consumption. Keeley found that

he had to carefully monitor patients for toxic effects. Then, however,

he discovered that mixing gold chloride with sodium chloride and a

substance which he kept secret produced a cure for addiction that

" accomplishes this quietly and mildly, without any shock or reactive

effects " (Keeley, 1897, p. 82).

Keeley was well aware of the history of gold in medicine, citing

numerous researchers who had worked with gold in the treatment of

diseases including syphilis and tuberculosis, but noting the problems

with gold toxicity (that his discovery had solved). Keeley had

excellent powers of observation. For example, in the course of

treating addictions, he noted: " In opium patients whose bodies are

covered with nodulations, sores, pimples, blotches, tumors, and

ulcers, resulting from the poison of the " drug, " remarkable effects

have been produced by the use of gold. The sores rapidly heal up and

pass away, even without the use of any liniment or local application

whatever " (p. 84). Gold medications are now a recognized replacement

for steroids in treating serious skin conditions (, 1987).

Included in Keeley's book is a copy of an editorial from the Chicago

Tribune, February 13, 1894. The editorial discusses Keeley's

remarkable record, citing a recent summary of 1000 cases, of which

over 90% seemed to have achieved a long-term cure of their addictions.

Other evidence of the efficacy of Keeley's gold therapy includes the

testimonial of (1893), who wrote a detailed description of his

own experiences in Keeley's program, and a historical discussion of

the Keeley League by Barclay (1964).

Higby (1982) cites an estimate as high as 100,000 patients treated

with gold by Keeley, and notes that by the mid-1890s, over 30,000

former Keeley patients joined clubs, " dedicated to the twin goals of

mutual support and spreading the gospel of Dr. Keeley's marvelous gold

treatment " (p. 138). Unfortunately, Keeley's exact formula was kept a

closely guarded secret, and the use of gold in treatment of alcoholism

at Keeley Institutes ceased with Keeley's death. Higby calls for more

historical research on the Keeley gold cure, since Keeley probably

administered more medicinal gold than anyone before or since. Despite

the absence of formal scientific study, Keeley's success in treating

addictions such as alcohol and morphine is impressive historical

evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, given that these

problems are still very difficult to treat.

The use of gold as a therapy not only for alcoholism, but for a

variety of neurological and glandular disorders, continued into the

1940s in the work of Edgar Cayce. Callan (1979) in the first editorial

addressing holistic medicine in the Journal of the American Medical

Association, credits Cayce with the origin of holistic medicine in

America. Cayce followed the philosophy evident in Barnett: very small

doses ( < 1 mg) of gold chloride taken orally. The gold was buffered

with either sodium bicarbonate or sodium bromide, presumably to reduce

toxicity. Although there were testimonials to the efficacy of Cayce's

treatments (Cayce, 1993), no controlled studies of the use of gold

were conducted in his time.

Nineteenth century microscopists also discovered an application for

gold in exploration of the nervous system. Gold salts have been

employed in neurological staining for light microscopy since Cohnheim

in 1866 (, 1983). Ramon y Cajal (1995) notes that Gerlach in 1871

stained with gold chloride and was able to enhance the distinction

between white and gray matter in sections, and to obtain an

unprecedented degree of contrast. Gurr (1962) lists several stains in

modern use containing gold chloride, for neuroglia fibers, astrocytes,

nerve fibers, sheaths and cells, and even for nerve fibers of

planarians.

The affinity of gold for the nervous system and the implications of

this for the treatment of nervous disorders was remarked on by Keeley

(1897): " The use of gold by the histologist to develop microscopical

nerves may, perhaps, be said to indicate that nerve fibre has a

peculiar affinity for that metal. The application of it in solution

brings out nerves which otherwise would be invisible. When the fact is

recognized that absorption by lifeless fibre is quite unlike

assimilation or reconstruction of that which is vitalized, then the

development of lifeless microscopic nerves by a solution of gold may

be in part owing to some of the recondite forces which cause the gold,

taken into circulation, to reconstruct living ones " (p. 82).

A similar approach to drug discovery was held by Ehrlich

(1854-1915). " Ehrlich's earliest observations dealt with the staining

of tissues for microscopic examination, and so with the processes by

which particular dyestuffs combined with and were fixed to specific

components of the tissues. Ehrlich supposed that the action of drugs

in bodily organs was likely to involve similar fixationÖ As an early

test of this thesis, he treated a small number of malarial patients

with the dye methylene blue, which was known to stain (that is, be

fixed by) the malaria parasite, and he showed that it had a modest

therapeutic effect " (Weatherall, 1993, p. 925).

(1985), in a review of therapeutic uses of trace elements in

neurological/psychiatric disorders, notes that while metal compounds

have been administered for several centuries, the scientific basis for

treatment with trace elements began with the use of gold compounds,

initially in patients with tuberculosis and later those with

rheumatoid arthritis. He points out the other important uses of trace

elements, including " the central nervous system where the use of

lithium has provided spectacular results in the treatment of affective

and other disorders. " Lithium carbonate is a simple metal salt with

major effects; the same may be possible for gold salts. It is

interesting that the first use of lithium in medicine was lithium

bromide in the 19th century (, 1992); gold bromide was also used,

for epilepsy.

To summarize the relevance of the historical uses of gold, it is clear

that there is a long tradition of gold as a nervine. But there were no

multicenter clinical trials; that is a modern phenomenon. There were

only observations and reports of individual cases. Keeley's work

stands out in this regard, but there is no other scientific support

for his claims; as with most of 19th century medicine, there are only

testimonials. Yet this work can be seen as a source of hypotheses for

testing with present day methods.

As 20th century medicine developed, gold disappeared from the

pharmacopoeias, except in the case of rheumatoid arthritis. Forestier

(1935) demonstrated its effectiveness in arthritis, although the

popularity of gold and belief in its effectiveness has waxed and waned

(Goodwin & Goodwin, 1984). Yet there appears to be no early 20th

century literature on the efficacy of gold for neurological and

glandular conditions, either pro or con. And the possible biological

role of gold as a naturally-occurring trace element was not explored

at all until recently.

The Biological Role of Naturally Occurring Gold

There is a continuum of effects with increasing concentration in the

biological activity of elements, from beneficial physiological effects

as trace elements, to pharmacological effects, to toxic effects at

high doses (Mertz, 1998). As described above, the pharmacological and

toxic effects of gold were well known historically, although the

pharmacological application is more limited today. But very few

studies of trace elements in the body have included gold. However,

those few studies have shown that naturally occurring gold is found

concentrated in glandular and reproductive tissues, and, in the

female, its concentration cycles with the reproductive cycle.

iou, Grimanis, Grimani, Papaevangelou, Koumantakis, and Papadatos

(1977) measured trace elements, including gold, in human placenta and

newborn liver at birth. They found gold in significantly higher

concentrations (3-fold higher) in placenta than liver tissue. Because

some essential trace elements (Zinc, Cobalt and Selenium) were found

in higher concentrations in the liver tissue, iou et al. conclude

that gold is a non-essential trace element. An alternative may be that

gold is specifically involved in reproductive glandular activity, as

discussed below.

Hagenfeldt, Landgren, Plantin, and Diczfaluzy (1977) measured trace

elements, including gold, in the human endometrium and decidua,

looking for cyclic variations, including those during pregnancy. It

had been previously established that there are significant cyclic

variations in major elements with known importance, such as sodium,

potassium, and copper. Using uteri from women undergoing hysterectomy,

they found that the levels of gold were similar in the endometrium and

the decidua. There were cyclic variations in gold (as well as a number

of other elements), which were significant at the p<0.05 level. They

reported that the levels of gold were slightly lower around midcycle

than at other stages of the cycle, but the physiological significance

of these changes is unknown.

In the male reproductive system, Skandhan and Abraham (1984) measured

gold in semen, and noted that, " this is the richest source of gold

reported in biological materials " (p. 587). They also speculated that,

since gold was not seen in one pathological sample with

asthenozoospermia, that may be an indication that reduction of this

trace element led to this pathology.

Kauf, Wiesner, Niese, and Plenert (1984) measured the amounts of a

number of trace elements in the hair of newborn infants. They noted,

" The investigation of trace elements in the hair of babies resulted in

the remarkable observation that in the first three months of life

zinc, copper and gold contents shows a considerable increase to

multiple levels of the birth values, followed by a decreaseÖIt must be

emphasized that gold, although classified as a non-essential trace

element, behaves in the hair of infants just like the physiologically

important essential trace elements zinc and copper " (p. 299).

One major source on trace elements in neurological disease is the work

of Gooddy, , and (1974). The 1974 study, which

summarizes the results of several studies by previous researchers,

does not give values for gold. They do, however, point out the

importance of many trace elements in enzyme systems. The discovery of

the biological activity of these elements has largely depended on

development of technology for measuring them at very low levels. They

point out the great metabolic importance of copper, and note that the

vertical neighbors of copper (in the periodic table of elements

indicating some similar properties), silver and gold, " are known

medically almost as curiosities, with some rare therapeutic and toxic

properties " (p. 330). Given this observation, it is not clear why they

failed to measure these elements in their study.

El-Yazigi, Al-Saleh, and Al-Mefty (1984) looked at both silver and

gold, as well as a variety of other trace elements, in cerebrospinal

fluid (CSF) of patients with cerebral neoplasms (brain tumors). The

concentration of silver was markedly increased in patients with

malignant tumors; the malignant tumor/control patient concentration

ratio was 2.31. They state that the biochemical mechanism of this

increased concentration is unknown. Interestingly, though there was no

consistent relationship between gold and tumor vs. control subjects,

for the single patient with pinealblastoma the concentration of gold

was about twice the concentration for the controls or other tumor

types.

El-Yazigi, Kanaan, , and Siquiera (1990) also looked at other

trace elements in the CSF, in particular platinum. They note that

there are no previous values in the literature for platinum in the

CSF. They found that platinum, in the opposite direction from silver,

is depleted in patients with tumors. Platinum is known to react with

DNA, and has treatment uses in cancer, as well as mutagenic

properties. Platinum is also adjacent to gold in the periodic table of

elements (the highly neurotoxic mercury is on the other side of gold,

and toxic lead is close by). The platinum concentrations in the

control group were 11.4 (SD 1.7) micrograms/liter. This is about 1/3

of the concentration of gold from the other study. In patients with

tumors, the platinum concentration is about half this level.

Are there dietary sources of this gold? This can be an important

issue, since dietary factors may be responsible for many of the

reported inconsistent and divergent findings in trace element research

(Nielsen, 1985). Warren (1989) looked at potential sources of gold in

the diet. He noted that in 1981 gold was found in honey bee pollen in

amounts as high as 0.9 ppm (dry weight). He found two plants (in

British Columbia, Canada) that conceivably could provide gold in the

diet, either to honeybees or perhaps directly ñ Phacelia sericea and

Dryas drummondi ñ which carry 25-50 times as much gold as any other

plants with which they are associated. Mahler, , Walsh, and

Haynie (1970), in a study of trace metals, including gold, in

fingernails and hair, note the importance of differences in

environmental sources of gold in different areas. , ,

, and Simcock (1998) have shown that " hyperaccumulator " plants,

such as Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) can uptake and store large

amounts of gold, up to 100 times that found in most plants. Any study

of naturally occurring gold needs to address dietary sources.

These few reports show that naturally occurring gold is found in

nervous and glandular tissue, behaves in some cases like an essential

trace element, and may change in concentration in correlation with

certain diseases.

Therapeutic Gold and the Nervous/Glandular Systems

Adverse effects of drugs can be an indicator of related therapeutic

effects at lower dosages. The therapeutic and adverse effects of gold

in living organisms are varied and paradoxical. Several different gold

salts are currently in use: gold sodium thiomalate and gold

thioglucose, both administered by injection, and auranofin, a complex

organic gold salt taken orally. The primary therapeutic use of gold is

in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (Kean, Forestier, Buchanan, &

Rooney, 1985), but there are many other less common uses, e.g., as a

steroid replacement in asthma and skin disorders, and as an

anti-cancer substance (Fricker, 1996). The primary adverse effects

include skin and gastrointestinal reactions (Locke & , 1985). Yet

gold-containing drugs have numerous rarer side effects, and can cause

or exacerbate the same disorders for which they are effective in

therapy. Gold-containing drugs have been used in place of steroids in

therapy for asthma (Bernstein, Bernstein, Dubb, Faiferman, & Wallin,

1996; Nierop, Gijzel, Bel, Zwinderman, & Dijkman, 1992), but in other

cases have been responsible for respiratory disorders and even death

(Blackwell & Gossage, 1995; Blancas, Morena, , de la Casa,

Onoro, & Gomez, 1998). Similarly, gold is used in dermatological

therapy (e.g., for pemphigus) (, 1987), yet skin disorders are a

common side effect of gold medicines, and gold has also been found to

cause pemphigus (Usuba, Aiba, Hashimoto, Tanita, & Sakai, 1989). As

another example, gold may be useful in treating lupus erythematosus

(Weisman, Albert, Mueller, Zvaifler, Hesketh, & Shragg, 1983; Dalziel,

Going, Cartwright, Marks, Beveridge, & Rowell, 1986), yet gold may

also induce lupus (Korholz, Nuenberger, Gobel, & Wahn, 1988). The

mechanism of action for these effects is not known (Liebfarth &

Persellin, 1981).

Neurological adverse effects of gold-containing drugs are rare, but

diverse.

They include both peripheral and central nervous system effects. At

first one might think that toxic side effects are evidence against the

utility of gold as a nervine. However, there is a therapeutic-toxic

continuum with all drugs; this was clearly recognized in the 19th

century by such gold therapists as Burnett (1879) and Keeley (1897).

The effects may be related to specific gold compounds, dosage, mode of

administration (oral, parenteral), and individual idiosyncratic

responses. Toxicity can often be a pointer to a therapeutic use at a

lower dose.

Three forms of gold-induced neurological side effects have been

recognized: (1) painful neuropathy, sometimes accompanied by insomnia

and anxiety, (2) peripheral motor neuropathy, and (3) encephalopathy

with symptoms including depression, delirium, and exogenous psychoses

(Schlumpf, Meyer, Ulrich, & Friede, 1983). Some of the case studies

are mentioned below; they contain references to many other cases.

The variety of peripheral neuropathies includes various forms of

polyradiculoneuropathy, a general term referring to peripheral

disorders involving multiple nerve roots. These can include both

sensory and motor symptoms, with both overactivity and paralysis. They

include Morvan's fibrillary chorea, a form of spontaneous muscular

activity (e.g., Vernay, Dubost, Thevenet, Sauvezie, & Rampon, 1986),

and a Guillain-Barre-like syndrome with weakness and paralysis (e.g.,

Schlumpf et al., 1983). Some of the reports of adverse effects of gold

are simply reported as peripheral neuropathy. Weiss, , &

Lazaro (1982) report a case which was characterized by weakness and

numbness of the hands and feet in association with hyperalgesia of the

palmar surface of the hands. With cessation of gold therapy

(aurothioglucose), recovery was slow but complete. In general,

patients typically recover, but slowly, from gold-induced neuropathy.

Microscopic descriptions of peripheral neuropathy include marked loss

of myelinated nerve fibers. In one patient, a nerve biopsy revealed,

" a chronic polyneuropathy with predominant features of regeneration.

Such features are clustering of myelinated fibers and the onion

bulb-like arrangement of Schwann cells around and within such

clusters " (Schlumpf et al., 1983). This observation is especially

interesting, since one of the claims for gold as a nervine is for the

regeneration of nerves.

Encephalopathy is the general term used for damage to the brain, as

opposed to the peripheral nerves. Gulliford, Archard, & van't Hoff

(1985) report a case of gold-induced encephalopathy, as do McAuley,

Lecky, & Earl (1977) and and sen (1984). Fam, Gordon,

Sarkosi, Blair, , Harth, & (1984) describe a case of

gold-induced encephalopathy with cerebral and cerebellar white matter

lesions, reversible on withdrawal of gold therapy. Erhardt, Fischer,

Fischer, & Kern (1978) report a case of cerebro-organic syndrome

related to gold therapy, consisting of delirium, dementia, and

amnestic and cognitive disorders.

Schlumpf et al. (1983) note that it is not surprising that neurologic

complications can be caused by gold because experimental work in

animals has shown that gold localizes in nervous system tissue. Gold

thioglucose, the medicine Solganol used for rheumatoid arthritis, is a

well-known neurotoxin in rodents, used in studies of obesity to

destroy the ventromedial hypothalamus, the part responsible for

control of eating behavior and metabolism. In addition to obesity, it

appears to become concentrated in other glandular tissue such as the

pancreas (Blech, Bierwolf, Weiss, & Ziegler, 1986), and the thymus and

adrenals (Atkins, Lambrecht, Wolf, Ansari, & Guillaume, 1975). It can

also cause generalized hypothalamic lesions in the chicken and duck

(Hopper & Satterlee, 1984). In humans it is interesting that people

who develop neurological adverse effects from gold sodium thiomalate

can be successfully changed to gold thioglucose for rheumatoid

arthritis therapy (Hill, Pile, , & Kirkham, 1995). Clearly

there are species differences in response to gold compounds, as well

as pronounced individual differences and dose-related effects.

The question of whether gold affects glandular function in humans is

still an open one. Chipman, boyar, & Fink (1982) tested the hypothesis

that gold therapy enhances endogenous cortisol secretion, using

juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients. Their preliminary data

suggested stimulation of cortisol secretion. But the results of the

more complete study were ambiguous. Cortisol secretion was

significantly greater in gold treated patients than in similar

patients not receiving gold. However, when untreated patients were

restudied after initiation of gold therapy, there was no significant

change in cortisol secretion. Gold therapy also did not significantly

alter secretion of the peptide hormones or DHEA-S. Their conclusion is

that gold does not appear to influence endogenous adrenal hormone

secretion.

In summary, there are diverse neurological and glandular side effects

occasionally observed in response to gold-containing medications.

These effects are further evidence suggesting that gold may play a

role in these systems.

How Much Gold is Necessary for a Pharmacological Effect?

Conventional gold therapy uses rather large doses, typically more than

1 mg per day. But there is some evidence that very low doses of gold

can have pharmacological effects.

The gold drugs used in rheumatoid arthritis are typically administered

in very large doses. Yet the relationship between dosage and response

is not simple. Speight and Holford (1997) say, " Dosages as low as 10

mg/week appear to be no different from 50 mg/week, which in turn is as

effective as 150 mg/week " (p. 1129). Given that toxicity is often seen

at high doses, how little gold can still produce a therapeutic effect?

Effects have occasionally been seen with very low doses of gold.

Mulherin, Struthers, & Situnayake (1997) examined the hypothesis that

gold rings might protect against erosion of the finger joints in

rheumatoid arthritis. They found that there is less articular erosion

at the left hand ring finger joints, and perhaps adjacent joints.

Their hypothesis is that gold could pass from a gold ring through the

skin and local lymphatics to nearby joints in sufficient quantities to

delay articular erosion. Since metallic gold has been seen as

virtually inert in biological systems, especially when present only at

the skin surface, a therapeutic effect is surprising. But there is

some historical support for this notion. In 14th century England,

" cramp rings " were used to relieve muscular pains or spasms, and

particularly epilepsy. Gold coins were placed by the king on a church

altar, removed, and made into rings (Bloch, 1961). We have no reliable

information concerning their effectiveness.

Belt and Kaarela (1998) and Bolosiu (1998) have expressed skepticism

of the low-dose gold hypothesis. But gold has been measured in

significantly greater concentrations in fingernails nearer gold rings

by Kanabrocki, Case, Graham, Fields, Oester, & Kaplan (1968), a fact

apparently unknown either to Mulherin et al., or to Bolosiu and Belt

and Kaarela. Kanabrocki et al. noted, " Only speculation can be made on

the mode of transport of gold from wedding bands to the fingernail, " a

situation that is still the case.

Klinkhoff and Teufel (1995), in an article entitled, " How low can you

go? " explored the minimum effective dose of gold for rheumatoid

arthritis. They identified a group of patients with sensitivity to

both the beneficial effects and the side effects of gold. They found

that doses as low as 2 mg every 4 weeks could result in major

improvement, and concluded that the minimum effective dose is not

known. (This contrasts with the standard daily dose of 10 to 50

mg/week for parenteral gold, and of 6 mg/day for oral gold (Goodman,

Rall, Nies, & , 1990)). This is still far more than the dose of

gold available from a gold ring, but is further evidence that

physiological effects do not require large doses of gold.

Interestingly, it is similar to the amount of gold in prescriptions

for neurological and other disorders by Cayce in the early-20th

century (Cayce, 1993).

The Modern Use of Colloidal Gold as a Nervine in Alternative Medicine

Although gold is not in use as a nervine at present in mainstream

medicine, its use has recently been explored in alternative medicine.

Instead of the modern gold-containing drugs, or the gold chloride used

historically, colloidal gold has become popular. Colloidal gold is

very fine particles of metallic gold (from 2 nm to 150 nm), suspended

in water. As discussed earlier in the historical section, colloidal

gold may have been the first form used as a nervine, as far back as

the ancient Chinese and Indian alchemists (Mahdihassan, 1985).

According to Abraham (1996) it is not toxic, but little is known about

its physiological effects. In mainstream medicine, colloidal gold is

generally thought to be biologically inert, and is used in electron

microscopy studies for that reason. By attaching it to macromolecules

such as antibodies, these molecules can be tracked to the locations

where they are active without affecting their functions (Polak &

Varndell, 1984) note, " Fortunately, upon adsorption, full biological

activity of the macromolecules is preserved. " Yet Abraham reports that

colloidal gold can have significant biological effects.

Abraham and Himmel (1997) used colloidal gold to treat rheumatoid

arthritis. They studied 10 severe cases, orally administering 30 mg of

colloidal gold per day. There was no clinical evidence or laboratory

evidence of toxicity in any of the patients. The effects of the gold

on the tenderness and swelling of joints were rapid and dramatic.

Evaluated individually, nine of the 10 patients improved markedly

after 24 weeks of colloidal gold.

Abraham, McReynolds, and Dill (1998) explored the potential of

colloidal gold as a nervine. Encouraged by pilot work suggesting

improved cognition and well-being (Abraham, 1996), they conducted a

study to see if gold could improve cognitive functioning. They tested

cognitive ability using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WAIS-R)

before and after four weeks on colloidal gold at 30 mg/day. After four

weeks on colloidal gold, there was a 20% increase in IQ scores. The

effect of the colloidal gold persisted in three subjects after one to

two months off gold, whereas in two subjects who took the test three

months after stopping the gold, IQ scores were down to baseline

levels. While a study of this small size is very preliminary, it is

encouraging evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, and as a

demonstration of a non-toxic preparation.

Directions for Future Research

Future research could focus on two aspects of gold: exploring the

effects of gold supplementation on neurological conditions, and

establishing whether naturally occurring gold is an essential trace

element.

Two approaches might be taken in exploring the effects of gold

supplementation. The first consists of attending to the side effects

of gold medications in cases where there is co-morbidity of rheumatoid

arthritis and a neurological, psychiatric, or glandular disorder. For

example, one could ask, do patients with epilepsy, depression, or

adrenal insufficiency who may be receiving gold for arthritis show any

improvement in neurological/glandular symptoms? Although neurological

adverse effects are rare, beneficial side effects might be found.

The second approach is to administer gold with the intention of

affecting a neurological or glandular condition. This is more

challenging, since little is known about effective or toxic doses. The

bioavailability of different gold compounds is an important

consideration in exploring the effects of gold supplementation. There

are substantial differences in the efficacy and side effects of the

organic gold salts used for rheumatoid arthritis, and individual

idiosyncrasies in response. As noted previously, it has been difficult

to establish a dose-response relationship for gold (Speight & Holford,

1997). Gold chloride, a favorite in the 19th century, is now used

primarily as a test for allergic skin reactions, not internally, so

nothing is known about its metabolism. And colloidal gold, as noted

above, should have very little physiological interaction at all,

although Abraham and Himmel (1997) present evidence to the contrary.

An advantage to using colloidal gold is that is has no known adverse

effects. Animal studies with gold chloride as well as the current gold

medications might also be productive.

Establishing gold as an essential trace element is another challenging

task. The few studies cited here are encouraging. A systematic

exploration of the concentrations of gold in cerebrospinal fluid,

blood, and neurological and glandular tissue could be performed. The

results would be interesting in neurological disorders and tumors

(e.g., El-Yazigi et al., 1984), glandular disorders (e.g., Skandhan &

Abraham, 1984) and developing infants (e.g., Kauf et al., 1984). But

much further research will be needed to confirm these observations and

determine gold's biological role. There are thousands of studies on

such elements as chromium and boron, which have only recently been

suggested as essential nutrients (Nielsen, 1990). It takes on the

average about 30-40 years for the general acceptance and application

of the discovery of a new essential trace element (Mertz, 1998).

Studies in both animals and humans will need to address specific

physiological roles, effects from deficiencies, and interactions with

metabolic stressors.

This research has the potential for re-establishing gold as a

significant therapeutic agent in a much wider range of disorders than

those for which it is currently used. And it could help in sorting out

valid from invalid claims of benefits from supplementation.

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Meridian Institute Homepage

[Guest guest]

Interesting, Natasa.

I had been wondering about gold since reading about the Kanner

patient whose autism substantially improved after his arthritis was

treated with gold salts. It looks as though these salts may still be

available, but only for rheumatoid arthritis. So mercury kills off

nervous connections and gold stimulates regeneration?

One thing not mentioned is the potential effect of gold crowns in the

mouth.

It would be interesting to try the gold salts, but the injected form

I would guess was the one the Kanner patient had and would be hard to

obtain. My aunt used to have gold injections into her hip joint. The

injection itself was painful, but the relief, which started a few

days later, would last for quite a while. (I was actually thinking of

asking my doctor about gold salts because I am experiencing chronic

joint pain which I am self-treating with aspirin, and I'm not

supposed to take NSAIDs because of other medication.)

Margaret

>

> http://www.meridianinstitute.com/ceu/ceu25gol.html

>

> Meridian

> Institute

> RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION

>

>

> Gold And Its Relationship To Neurological/Glandular Conditions

>

> G. s, Ph.D., L. McMillin, M.A.,

> A. Mein, M.D., Carl D. , D.C.

>

> Meridian Institute

>

> International Journal of Neuroscience

> 2002, Volume 112, pages 31-53

>

> [Click here to view this document in Adobe Acrobat format (2.34

MB).]

>

>

> Abstract

>

> Despite increasing sales of gold supplements, and claims of benefits

> for neurological and glandular conditions, gold has received little

> attention in modern medical literature except as a drug for

rheumatoid

> arthritis. Historically, however, gold had a reputation as a

> " nervine, " a therapy for nervous disorders. A review of the

historical

> literature shows gold in use during the 19th century for conditions

> including depression, epilepsy, migraine, and glandular problems

> including amenorrhea and impotence. The most notable use of gold was

> in a treatment for alcoholism developed by E. Keeley, M.D. In

> the modern medical literature, gold-containing medicines for

> rheumatoid arthritis are known to have occasional neurotoxic adverse

> effects. There are also a few studies suggesting a role for gold as

a

> naturally occurring trace element in the reproductive glands. One

> small recent study demonstrated a possible positive effect of gold

on

> cognitive ability. There is a need for more experimental and

clinical

> research into the neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of gold, and

> exploration of gold's possible role as a trace element.

>

>

> Gold and its Relationship to Neurological/Glandular Conditions

>

> The modern use of gold-containing medicines focuses primarily on

> rheumatoid arthritis, with some recent attention to other

> anti-inflammatory uses of gold, and to new anticancer and

> antimicrobial gold drugs (Fricker, 1998). Otherwise, in mainstream

> medicine, gold has been seen as a metal with little biological

> relevance. In contrast, the benefits suggested for gold-containing

> supplements, widely available in health food stores and over the

> Internet, address a variety of conditions including alcoholism,

> depression, and gland function (e.g., http://www.colloidalgold.com,

> 2001; http://www.topsilver.com, 2001). Is there any support for a

> neuropharmacologic effect of gold?

>

> Although there is very little modern research on these applications

> for gold, historically one notable use of gold was as a " nervine, " a

> substance that could revitalize people suffering from nervous

> conditions, what today we would call neurological and psychiatric

> disorders such as epilepsy and depression. This paper will review

the

> historical use of gold as a healing agent for the nervous and

> glandular systems, and then look at recent literature pointing to a

> biological role in these systems for gold.

>

> Goodwin and Goodwin (1984) in the Journal of the American Medical

> Association, have addressed what they term the " tomato effect, "

> rejection of highly efficacious therapies. The analogy is with the

> long-held belief that tomatoes were poisonous, despite evidence to

the

> contrary. The tomato effect contrasts with the placebo effect,

where a

> positive (but spurious) response causes therapies to be accepted

which

> are later shown to be useless or harmful. The Goodwins use gold as

an

> example of the tomato effect. The original rationale behind the use

of

> gold for rheumatoid arthritis was its effectiveness as an antibiotic

> for tuberculosis (with the assumption that rheumatoid arthritis was

a

> related infectious disease). When, by 1945, the infectious theory of

> rheumatoid arthritis was discarded, gold therapy fell into disfavor,

> despite its proven effectiveness. " Gold started to regain its former

> popularity only when the medical community accepted both the

evidence

> of gold's efficacy and medicine's ignorance of gold's mechanism of

> action. The fact that gold now has an unknown mechanism of action ñ

is

> a truly idiopathic medicine ñ is no longer an impediment to its use,

> because rheumatoid arthritis has become an idiopathic disease " (p.

> 2389).

>

> The intent of this paper is to explore a similar situation for gold

> and neurological/glandular disorders. Neither the causes of the

> disorders nor the mechanism of gold are known, yet there are reports

> pointing to a possible involvement of naturally-occurring gold in

the

> nervous and glandular systems, and evidence from historical sources

of

> a possible efficacy of gold in therapy for neurological disorders.

>

>

> Historical Review of Gold as a Nervine

>

> Gold has a therapeutic history in both Eastern and Western

traditions.

> Mahdihassan (1985) has explored the historical use of gold in

Eastern

> traditions. The Chinese were the first to prepare and use red

> colloidal gold as the alchemical drug of longevity. The word alchemy

> derives from two Chinese words: Kim (gold) and Yeh (juice). Kimyeh

> (gold juice) entered the Arabic language as kimiya, and with the

> definite article, al, the arabic word for the red colloidal gold was

> alkimiya, which in the Western world, gave the word alchemy. The

> procedure for the preparation of red colloidal gold is still in use

> today in India, prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians for rejuvenation

> and revitalization in old age under the name of Swarna Bhasma (red

> gold).

>

> There is modern scientific support for at least one effect of

Eastern

> gold preparations on the nervous system. Bajaj and Vohora (1998)

> studied the analgesic activity of gold preparations used in Ayurveda

> and Unani-Tibb, two Indian medical traditions. Two calcined gold

> preparations were compared to the modern antiarthritis gold drug

> auranofin in rats, using four types of noxious stimuli. Both the

> Indian drugs and auranofin exhibited analgesic activity. The

analgesic

> effects of the two Indian drugs could be partly blocked by

> pretreatment with naloxone (an opiate antagonist), but not the

effects

> of the auranofin. The authors feel that this suggests involvement of

> an opioidergic mechanism for the Indian drugs.

>

> The use of gold in Western medicine as a nervine has a long history

as

> well. The medieval alchemists, like their Eastern counterparts, and

> probably drawing on the traditions of Eastern alchemy, sought a form

> of gold that could be internally consumed, " potable gold, " as the

> elixir of life. Paracelsus, in the 16th century, recommended

> preparations of gold in his therapy for epilepsy (Temkin, 1971). By

> the beginning of the 17th century, alchemists were clearly able to

> produce the soluble salt gold trichloride (Higby, 1982). By the mid

> 17th century, gold was in use as a nervine:

>

> " A gold cordial could be found in the new pharmacopoeias of the 17th

> century and was advocated by Culpepper for the treatment of

> ailments caused by a decrease in the vital spirits, such as

> melancholy, fainting, fevers, and falling sickness [epilepsy] "

> (Fricker, 1996). This is notable because it includes a grouping of

> what today would be called neurological/psychiatric disorders (e.g.,

> depression, epilepsy).

>

> By the beginning of the 19th century, gold had become a recognized

> (although probably not very effective) treatment for syphilis, a

> disease causing dementia among other serious symptoms. In 1821 the

> Frenchman J. A. Chrestien published " Researches and observations on

> the effects of preparations of gold in the treatment of many

diseases

> and notably in syphilitic maladies " (Niel & Chrestien, 1821).

> Chrestien was a notable physician of the time, with a degree from

the

> University of Montpelier, and memberships in the Royal Academy of

> Paris, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid, and many other

learned

> societies. His interest in gold came from the observation that it

had

> milder side effects than mercury (the common treatment for syphilis

at

> the time). He was also apparently the first to notice that in

> occasional cases treatment with gold produced an increase in

vitality

> and intellectual faculties, and had a stimulating effect on the

glands

> and sexual functioning. Chrestien and those who followed him used

gold

> trichloride as their form of gold.

>

> In 1879, Compton Burnett published a lengthy treatise on the

use

> of gold in medicine. Burnett was a medical doctor, a homeopath, and

a

> prolific author (27 books listed in the National Library of Medicine

> catalog). Burnett traced the modern use of gold back to Chrestien's

> first book in 1811, but gave credit to earlier figures as well. He

> noted that the ingestion of gold is mentioned in the Bible (Exodus

> 32:20), and that the Chinese were using it in 2500 BC, according to

> Wiegleb's History of Alchemy in 1777. He traced its use in a

diversity

> of disorders, including neurological and glandular problems such as

> epilepsy, sterility, and diseases of the uterus, to the publication

of

> De Auri Tinctura sive Auro Potabili Vero, etc. by Glauber in

Amsterdam

> in 1651. He also noted that, " Hahnemann [ Hahnemann, the

> originator of homeopathy] mentions nearly thirty authors (1698-1730)

> who praise Gold as a valuable remedy in various diseases such as

> melancholiaÖ " (p. 91).

>

> According to Burnett, Chrestien's use of gold was at first opposed

by

> the medical profession, which had abandoned the use of gold in

> medicine. However, after Chrestien's publication, gold regained its

> popularity. Burnett cites Legrand's (1828) account, the Medicinal

> Properties of Gold, in which he lists 80 medical men of the time,

who

> became known as " auralists, " who were exploring the use of gold.

> Burnett says, " Gold is an excitantÖThe patients feel an

indescribable

> sense of well-being, they feel themselves lighten (as they express

> it), so that we may say that Gold possesses hilariant properties.

The

> intellectual faculties are more active. It has been known to produce

> frequent erotic salacity going on to painful priapism. M Legrand,

> however, states that he has not used it as an aphrodisiac, but it

has

> been used as such with success " (p. 49). Burnett also says, " Some

are

> of the opinion that Gold belongs to that class of noble metals, such

> as silver and copper, which exert a powerful influence on the

nervous

> system. Of this opinion is Vogt (Pharmaco-dynamik) " (p. 57).

>

> Burnett was also well aware of the toxic effects of high doses of

> gold. He identifies himself as a homeopath, but had a different

> philosophy than many homeopaths. In traditional homeopathy, the

remedy

> is an extremely high dilution of a substance, so high that not even

a

> single molecule remains. It was Hahnemann's alternative to " heroic "

> medicine, which involved high doses that were frequently toxic.

> Burnett took a middle course, resembling the approach of 20th

century

> medicine. He preferred low dilutions, as opposed to high ones. Thus

> his recommended dosage of gold is 3/100 or 9/100 of a grain. Since a

> grain is 65 milligrams, this would range from 1.95 mg to 5.85 mg.

This

> is very close to the range of daily dose of modern antiarthritic

> drugs, e.g., the 6 mg per day (1.74 mg of gold, at 29% gold)

standard

> dose of auranofin. It seems possible, then, that Burnett did find an

> effective dose of gold with relatively low toxicity.

>

> By the end of the 19th century, and in the first half of the 20th

> century, gold is listed as a treatment for nervous disorders in

> sources ranging from medical texts to the first Merck manual.

>

> In discussing the treatment of asthma, for example, Eichhorst (1886)

> in his Handbook of Practical Medicine says, " In nervous individuals,

> resort should be had to the nervines: bromide of potassium,

valerian,

> arsenic, auronatrium chloratum [gold sodium chloride], zinc, copper,

> and silver preparations, etc. " (p. 236) Bromide of potassium and

> valerian are still used for treatment of nervous disorders, and

> arsenic came into use in the early 1900s as a treatment for

syphilis,

> which has neurological manifestations.

>

> Potter (1894), in his Materia Medica, based on the U.S.

Pharmacopoeia

> of 1890, describes the effects of small doses of gold: " The Salts of

> Gold promote appetite and digestion, stimulate the cerebral

functions,

> and produce a marked mental exhilaration, a sense of well-being.

> Continued, they induce aphrodisiac effects in both sexes, and in

women

> an increase of the menstrual dischargeÖ.Amenorrhea and Impotence, of

> the functional kind, - may be cured by it. " He is also well aware of

> the toxic effects of too large a dose, resembling those of mercury,

> and including " nausea and vomiting, glandular irritationÖviolent

> gastroenteritis, mental disturbance, convulsions, priapism,

trembling,

> paralysis. " This recognition of both kinds of effects is

significant,

> since later in this paper the adverse effects of gold will be

> discussed as a possible indicator of areas particularly sensitive to

> the therapeutic effects of lower doses of gold.

>

> The 1899 Merck's Manual lists gold under " aphrodisiacs " (p. 187).

Gold

> bromide is an " anti-epileptic, anodyne, nervine, " used

for, " epilepsy,

> migraine, etc.; said to act, in small doses, quickly and

continuously,

> without bromism " (p. 38). Bromides, particularly potassium bromide,

> were first used as nervines in the mid-19th century, to treat

> epilepsy, insomnia, nervous excitement and irritability (Leake,

1975).

> They were the first effective anti-seizure medicine. It is not clear

> exactly when gold bromide began to be used, but it appears that it

was

> found to be effective in a smaller dose than potassium bromide used

> alone. For example, the standard dose of gold bromide was given in

> Merck's Manual as 1/10 to 1/5 grain, 2 to 3 times daily. This can be

> contrasted with a standard dose of potassium bromide, of 5 to 60

> grains (Garber, 1942), or of sodium bromide (10-60 grains, Garber,

> 1942; 5-30 grains, Dorland, 1908). and Baumann (1999) give

modern

> guidelines for bromide dosage in epilepsy- might gold bromide allow

a

> lower dose to be effective?

>

> Hare (1912) in his Text Book of Practical Therapeutics , notes " it

> [gold sodium chloride] is said to act as a powerful sexual stimulant

> and to be of service in impotence dependent upon inability to obtain

> an erection or when there is deficient glandular action " (p. 274).

> Page 900 in Hare lists a standard dose of " gold and sodium chloride "

> as 1/20 ñ 1/10 grain (3 ñ 6 mg), and " gold bromide " as 1/8-1/2 grain

> (8 ñ 30 mg).

>

> Fomon (1920) in his book Medicine and the Allied Sciences, in the

> section on Materia Medica and Therapeutics: Agents Producing

Changes,

> says gold (as chloride of gold sodium) " stimulates the nervous

> system, " " stimulates the sexual organs, " and is employed in

> therapeutics as an aphrodisiac, an alterative in chronic diseases,

and

> in the Keeley cure for alcoholism and opiumism.

>

> Even as late as 1942, Stedman's Practical Medical Dictionary

(Garber,

> 1942) lists gold bromide as employed in epilepsy, headache, and as a

> nerve sedative. Double chloride of gold and sodium is listed as an

> alterative (a medicine that produces a favorable change in the

> processes of nutrition and repair, Dorland, 1908) and tonic.

Finally,

> Stedman's notes the Keeley cure or gold cure, " a secret method of

> treatment of alcoholism, said to be by the administration of

> strychnine and gold chloride. " Actually, based on Keeley's own

> writings (Keeley, 1897), strychnine is unlikely to be a component of

> Keeley's cure.

>

> The most interesting use of gold in treatment is the gold cure of

> E. Keeley, M.D. (1832-1900). Keeley's great discovery was

that

> the chloride of gold and sodium (prepared by mixing gold chloride

and

> sodium chloride) was an effective treatment for addictions,

including

> morphine/opium and cocaine addiction as well as alcoholism. In the

> 19th century, a variety of medications were used in an effort to

ease

> withdrawal symptoms and cure addictions. Most, such as atropine and

> strychnine, were so toxic that they were of little use. Even gold

> chloride was too caustic for internal consumption. Keeley found that

> he had to carefully monitor patients for toxic effects. Then,

however,

> he discovered that mixing gold chloride with sodium chloride and a

> substance which he kept secret produced a cure for addiction that

> " accomplishes this quietly and mildly, without any shock or reactive

> effects " (Keeley, 1897, p. 82).

>

> Keeley was well aware of the history of gold in medicine, citing

> numerous researchers who had worked with gold in the treatment of

> diseases including syphilis and tuberculosis, but noting the

problems

> with gold toxicity (that his discovery had solved). Keeley had

> excellent powers of observation. For example, in the course of

> treating addictions, he noted: " In opium patients whose bodies are

> covered with nodulations, sores, pimples, blotches, tumors, and

> ulcers, resulting from the poison of the " drug, " remarkable effects

> have been produced by the use of gold. The sores rapidly heal up and

> pass away, even without the use of any liniment or local application

> whatever " (p. 84). Gold medications are now a recognized replacement

> for steroids in treating serious skin conditions (, 1987).

>

> Included in Keeley's book is a copy of an editorial from the Chicago

> Tribune, February 13, 1894. The editorial discusses Keeley's

> remarkable record, citing a recent summary of 1000 cases, of which

> over 90% seemed to have achieved a long-term cure of their

addictions.

> Other evidence of the efficacy of Keeley's gold therapy includes the

> testimonial of (1893), who wrote a detailed description of his

> own experiences in Keeley's program, and a historical discussion of

> the Keeley League by Barclay (1964).

>

> Higby (1982) cites an estimate as high as 100,000 patients treated

> with gold by Keeley, and notes that by the mid-1890s, over 30,000

> former Keeley patients joined clubs, " dedicated to the twin goals of

> mutual support and spreading the gospel of Dr. Keeley's marvelous

gold

> treatment " (p. 138). Unfortunately, Keeley's exact formula was kept

a

> closely guarded secret, and the use of gold in treatment of

alcoholism

> at Keeley Institutes ceased with Keeley's death. Higby calls for

more

> historical research on the Keeley gold cure, since Keeley probably

> administered more medicinal gold than anyone before or since.

Despite

> the absence of formal scientific study, Keeley's success in treating

> addictions such as alcohol and morphine is impressive historical

> evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, given that these

> problems are still very difficult to treat.

>

> The use of gold as a therapy not only for alcoholism, but for a

> variety of neurological and glandular disorders, continued into the

> 1940s in the work of Edgar Cayce. Callan (1979) in the first

editorial

> addressing holistic medicine in the Journal of the American Medical

> Association, credits Cayce with the origin of holistic medicine in

> America. Cayce followed the philosophy evident in Barnett: very

small

> doses ( < 1 mg) of gold chloride taken orally. The gold was buffered

> with either sodium bicarbonate or sodium bromide, presumably to

reduce

> toxicity. Although there were testimonials to the efficacy of

Cayce's

> treatments (Cayce, 1993), no controlled studies of the use of gold

> were conducted in his time.

>

> Nineteenth century microscopists also discovered an application for

> gold in exploration of the nervous system. Gold salts have been

> employed in neurological staining for light microscopy since

Cohnheim

> in 1866 (, 1983). Ramon y Cajal (1995) notes that Gerlach in

1871

> stained with gold chloride and was able to enhance the distinction

> between white and gray matter in sections, and to obtain an

> unprecedented degree of contrast. Gurr (1962) lists several stains

in

> modern use containing gold chloride, for neuroglia fibers,

astrocytes,

> nerve fibers, sheaths and cells, and even for nerve fibers of

> planarians.

>

> The affinity of gold for the nervous system and the implications of

> this for the treatment of nervous disorders was remarked on by

Keeley

> (1897): " The use of gold by the histologist to develop microscopical

> nerves may, perhaps, be said to indicate that nerve fibre has a

> peculiar affinity for that metal. The application of it in solution

> brings out nerves which otherwise would be invisible. When the fact

is

> recognized that absorption by lifeless fibre is quite unlike

> assimilation or reconstruction of that which is vitalized, then the

> development of lifeless microscopic nerves by a solution of gold may

> be in part owing to some of the recondite forces which cause the

gold,

> taken into circulation, to reconstruct living ones " (p. 82).

>

> A similar approach to drug discovery was held by Ehrlich

> (1854-1915). " Ehrlich's earliest observations dealt with the

staining

> of tissues for microscopic examination, and so with the processes by

> which particular dyestuffs combined with and were fixed to specific

> components of the tissues. Ehrlich supposed that the action of drugs

> in bodily organs was likely to involve similar fixationÖ As an early

> test of this thesis, he treated a small number of malarial patients

> with the dye methylene blue, which was known to stain (that is, be

> fixed by) the malaria parasite, and he showed that it had a modest

> therapeutic effect " (Weatherall, 1993, p. 925).

>

> (1985), in a review of therapeutic uses of trace elements in

> neurological/psychiatric disorders, notes that while metal compounds

> have been administered for several centuries, the scientific basis

for

> treatment with trace elements began with the use of gold compounds,

> initially in patients with tuberculosis and later those with

> rheumatoid arthritis. He points out the other important uses of

trace

> elements, including " the central nervous system where the use of

> lithium has provided spectacular results in the treatment of

affective

> and other disorders. " Lithium carbonate is a simple metal salt with

> major effects; the same may be possible for gold salts. It is

> interesting that the first use of lithium in medicine was lithium

> bromide in the 19th century (, 1992); gold bromide was also

used,

> for epilepsy.

>

> To summarize the relevance of the historical uses of gold, it is

clear

> that there is a long tradition of gold as a nervine. But there were

no

> multicenter clinical trials; that is a modern phenomenon. There were

> only observations and reports of individual cases. Keeley's work

> stands out in this regard, but there is no other scientific support

> for his claims; as with most of 19th century medicine, there are

only

> testimonials. Yet this work can be seen as a source of hypotheses

for

> testing with present day methods.

>

> As 20th century medicine developed, gold disappeared from the

> pharmacopoeias, except in the case of rheumatoid arthritis.

Forestier

> (1935) demonstrated its effectiveness in arthritis, although the

> popularity of gold and belief in its effectiveness has waxed and

waned

> (Goodwin & Goodwin, 1984). Yet there appears to be no early 20th

> century literature on the efficacy of gold for neurological and

> glandular conditions, either pro or con. And the possible biological

> role of gold as a naturally-occurring trace element was not explored

> at all until recently.

>

>

> The Biological Role of Naturally Occurring Gold

>

> There is a continuum of effects with increasing concentration in the

> biological activity of elements, from beneficial physiological

effects

> as trace elements, to pharmacological effects, to toxic effects at

> high doses (Mertz, 1998). As described above, the pharmacological

and

> toxic effects of gold were well known historically, although the

> pharmacological application is more limited today. But very few

> studies of trace elements in the body have included gold. However,

> those few studies have shown that naturally occurring gold is found

> concentrated in glandular and reproductive tissues, and, in the

> female, its concentration cycles with the reproductive cycle.

>

> iou, Grimanis, Grimani, Papaevangelou, Koumantakis, and

Papadatos

> (1977) measured trace elements, including gold, in human placenta

and

> newborn liver at birth. They found gold in significantly higher

> concentrations (3-fold higher) in placenta than liver tissue.

Because

> some essential trace elements (Zinc, Cobalt and Selenium) were found

> in higher concentrations in the liver tissue, iou et al.

conclude

> that gold is a non-essential trace element. An alternative may be

that

> gold is specifically involved in reproductive glandular activity, as

> discussed below.

>

> Hagenfeldt, Landgren, Plantin, and Diczfaluzy (1977) measured trace

> elements, including gold, in the human endometrium and decidua,

> looking for cyclic variations, including those during pregnancy. It

> had been previously established that there are significant cyclic

> variations in major elements with known importance, such as sodium,

> potassium, and copper. Using uteri from women undergoing

hysterectomy,

> they found that the levels of gold were similar in the endometrium

and

> the decidua. There were cyclic variations in gold (as well as a

number

> of other elements), which were significant at the p<0.05 level. They

> reported that the levels of gold were slightly lower around midcycle

> than at other stages of the cycle, but the physiological

significance

> of these changes is unknown.

>

> In the male reproductive system, Skandhan and Abraham (1984)

measured

> gold in semen, and noted that, " this is the richest source of gold

> reported in biological materials " (p. 587). They also speculated

that,

> since gold was not seen in one pathological sample with

> asthenozoospermia, that may be an indication that reduction of this

> trace element led to this pathology.

>

> Kauf, Wiesner, Niese, and Plenert (1984) measured the amounts of a

> number of trace elements in the hair of newborn infants. They noted,

> " The investigation of trace elements in the hair of babies resulted

in

> the remarkable observation that in the first three months of life

> zinc, copper and gold contents shows a considerable increase to

> multiple levels of the birth values, followed by a decreaseÖIt must

be

> emphasized that gold, although classified as a non-essential trace

> element, behaves in the hair of infants just like the

physiologically

> important essential trace elements zinc and copper " (p. 299).

>

> One major source on trace elements in neurological disease is the

work

> of Gooddy, , and (1974). The 1974 study, which

> summarizes the results of several studies by previous researchers,

> does not give values for gold. They do, however, point out the

> importance of many trace elements in enzyme systems. The discovery

of

> the biological activity of these elements has largely depended on

> development of technology for measuring them at very low levels.

They

> point out the great metabolic importance of copper, and note that

the

> vertical neighbors of copper (in the periodic table of elements

> indicating some similar properties), silver and gold, " are known

> medically almost as curiosities, with some rare therapeutic and

toxic

> properties " (p. 330). Given this observation, it is not clear why

they

> failed to measure these elements in their study.

>

> El-Yazigi, Al-Saleh, and Al-Mefty (1984) looked at both silver and

> gold, as well as a variety of other trace elements, in cerebrospinal

> fluid (CSF) of patients with cerebral neoplasms (brain tumors). The

> concentration of silver was markedly increased in patients with

> malignant tumors; the malignant tumor/control patient concentration

> ratio was 2.31. They state that the biochemical mechanism of this

> increased concentration is unknown. Interestingly, though there was

no

> consistent relationship between gold and tumor vs. control subjects,

> for the single patient with pinealblastoma the concentration of gold

> was about twice the concentration for the controls or other tumor

> types.

>

> El-Yazigi, Kanaan, , and Siquiera (1990) also looked at other

> trace elements in the CSF, in particular platinum. They note that

> there are no previous values in the literature for platinum in the

> CSF. They found that platinum, in the opposite direction from

silver,

> is depleted in patients with tumors. Platinum is known to react with

> DNA, and has treatment uses in cancer, as well as mutagenic

> properties. Platinum is also adjacent to gold in the periodic table

of

> elements (the highly neurotoxic mercury is on the other side of

gold,

> and toxic lead is close by). The platinum concentrations in the

> control group were 11.4 (SD 1.7) micrograms/liter. This is about 1/3

> of the concentration of gold from the other study. In patients with

> tumors, the platinum concentration is about half this level.

>

> Are there dietary sources of this gold? This can be an important

> issue, since dietary factors may be responsible for many of the

> reported inconsistent and divergent findings in trace element

research

> (Nielsen, 1985). Warren (1989) looked at potential sources of gold

in

> the diet. He noted that in 1981 gold was found in honey bee pollen

in

> amounts as high as 0.9 ppm (dry weight). He found two plants (in

> British Columbia, Canada) that conceivably could provide gold in the

> diet, either to honeybees or perhaps directly ñ Phacelia sericea and

> Dryas drummondi ñ which carry 25-50 times as much gold as any other

> plants with which they are associated. Mahler, , Walsh, and

> Haynie (1970), in a study of trace metals, including gold, in

> fingernails and hair, note the importance of differences in

> environmental sources of gold in different areas. , ,

> , and Simcock (1998) have shown that " hyperaccumulator "

plants,

> such as Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) can uptake and store large

> amounts of gold, up to 100 times that found in most plants. Any

study

> of naturally occurring gold needs to address dietary sources.

>

> These few reports show that naturally occurring gold is found in

> nervous and glandular tissue, behaves in some cases like an

essential

> trace element, and may change in concentration in correlation with

> certain diseases.

>

>

> Therapeutic Gold and the Nervous/Glandular Systems

>

> Adverse effects of drugs can be an indicator of related therapeutic

> effects at lower dosages. The therapeutic and adverse effects of

gold

> in living organisms are varied and paradoxical. Several different

gold

> salts are currently in use: gold sodium thiomalate and gold

> thioglucose, both administered by injection, and auranofin, a

complex

> organic gold salt taken orally. The primary therapeutic use of gold

is

> in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (Kean, Forestier,

Buchanan, &

> Rooney, 1985), but there are many other less common uses, e.g., as a

> steroid replacement in asthma and skin disorders, and as an

> anti-cancer substance (Fricker, 1996). The primary adverse effects

> include skin and gastrointestinal reactions (Locke & , 1985).

Yet

> gold-containing drugs have numerous rarer side effects, and can

cause

> or exacerbate the same disorders for which they are effective in

> therapy. Gold-containing drugs have been used in place of steroids

in

> therapy for asthma (Bernstein, Bernstein, Dubb, Faiferman, & Wallin,

> 1996; Nierop, Gijzel, Bel, Zwinderman, & Dijkman, 1992), but in

other

> cases have been responsible for respiratory disorders and even death

> (Blackwell & Gossage, 1995; Blancas, Morena, , de la Casa,

> Onoro, & Gomez, 1998). Similarly, gold is used in dermatological

> therapy (e.g., for pemphigus) (, 1987), yet skin disorders

are a

> common side effect of gold medicines, and gold has also been found

to

> cause pemphigus (Usuba, Aiba, Hashimoto, Tanita, & Sakai, 1989). As

> another example, gold may be useful in treating lupus erythematosus

> (Weisman, Albert, Mueller, Zvaifler, Hesketh, & Shragg, 1983;

Dalziel,

> Going, Cartwright, Marks, Beveridge, & Rowell, 1986), yet gold may

> also induce lupus (Korholz, Nuenberger, Gobel, & Wahn, 1988). The

> mechanism of action for these effects is not known (Liebfarth &

> Persellin, 1981).

>

> Neurological adverse effects of gold-containing drugs are rare, but

> diverse.

>

> They include both peripheral and central nervous system effects. At

> first one might think that toxic side effects are evidence against

the

> utility of gold as a nervine. However, there is a therapeutic-toxic

> continuum with all drugs; this was clearly recognized in the 19th

> century by such gold therapists as Burnett (1879) and Keeley (1897).

> The effects may be related to specific gold compounds, dosage, mode

of

> administration (oral, parenteral), and individual idiosyncratic

> responses. Toxicity can often be a pointer to a therapeutic use at a

> lower dose.

>

> Three forms of gold-induced neurological side effects have been

> recognized: (1) painful neuropathy, sometimes accompanied by

insomnia

> and anxiety, (2) peripheral motor neuropathy, and (3) encephalopathy

> with symptoms including depression, delirium, and exogenous

psychoses

> (Schlumpf, Meyer, Ulrich, & Friede, 1983). Some of the case studies

> are mentioned below; they contain references to many other cases.

>

> The variety of peripheral neuropathies includes various forms of

> polyradiculoneuropathy, a general term referring to peripheral

> disorders involving multiple nerve roots. These can include both

> sensory and motor symptoms, with both overactivity and paralysis.

They

> include Morvan's fibrillary chorea, a form of spontaneous muscular

> activity (e.g., Vernay, Dubost, Thevenet, Sauvezie, & Rampon, 1986),

> and a Guillain-Barre-like syndrome with weakness and paralysis

(e.g.,

> Schlumpf et al., 1983). Some of the reports of adverse effects of

gold

> are simply reported as peripheral neuropathy. Weiss, , &

> Lazaro (1982) report a case which was characterized by weakness and

> numbness of the hands and feet in association with hyperalgesia of

the

> palmar surface of the hands. With cessation of gold therapy

> (aurothioglucose), recovery was slow but complete. In general,

> patients typically recover, but slowly, from gold-induced

neuropathy.

>

> Microscopic descriptions of peripheral neuropathy include marked

loss

> of myelinated nerve fibers. In one patient, a nerve biopsy revealed,

> " a chronic polyneuropathy with predominant features of regeneration.

> Such features are clustering of myelinated fibers and the onion

> bulb-like arrangement of Schwann cells around and within such

> clusters " (Schlumpf et al., 1983). This observation is especially

> interesting, since one of the claims for gold as a nervine is for

the

> regeneration of nerves.

>

> Encephalopathy is the general term used for damage to the brain, as

> opposed to the peripheral nerves. Gulliford, Archard, & van't Hoff

> (1985) report a case of gold-induced encephalopathy, as do McAuley,

> Lecky, & Earl (1977) and and sen (1984). Fam, Gordon,

> Sarkosi, Blair, , Harth, & (1984) describe a case of

> gold-induced encephalopathy with cerebral and cerebellar white

matter

> lesions, reversible on withdrawal of gold therapy. Erhardt, Fischer,

> Fischer, & Kern (1978) report a case of cerebro-organic syndrome

> related to gold therapy, consisting of delirium, dementia, and

> amnestic and cognitive disorders.

>

> Schlumpf et al. (1983) note that it is not surprising that

neurologic

> complications can be caused by gold because experimental work in

> animals has shown that gold localizes in nervous system tissue. Gold

> thioglucose, the medicine Solganol used for rheumatoid arthritis,

is a

> well-known neurotoxin in rodents, used in studies of obesity to

> destroy the ventromedial hypothalamus, the part responsible for

> control of eating behavior and metabolism. In addition to obesity,

it

> appears to become concentrated in other glandular tissue such as the

> pancreas (Blech, Bierwolf, Weiss, & Ziegler, 1986), and the thymus

and

> adrenals (Atkins, Lambrecht, Wolf, Ansari, & Guillaume, 1975). It

can

> also cause generalized hypothalamic lesions in the chicken and duck

> (Hopper & Satterlee, 1984). In humans it is interesting that people

> who develop neurological adverse effects from gold sodium thiomalate

> can be successfully changed to gold thioglucose for rheumatoid

> arthritis therapy (Hill, Pile, , & Kirkham, 1995). Clearly

> there are species differences in response to gold compounds, as well

> as pronounced individual differences and dose-related effects.

>

> The question of whether gold affects glandular function in humans is

> still an open one. Chipman, boyar, & Fink (1982) tested the

hypothesis

> that gold therapy enhances endogenous cortisol secretion, using

> juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients. Their preliminary data

> suggested stimulation of cortisol secretion. But the results of the

> more complete study were ambiguous. Cortisol secretion was

> significantly greater in gold treated patients than in similar

> patients not receiving gold. However, when untreated patients were

> restudied after initiation of gold therapy, there was no significant

> change in cortisol secretion. Gold therapy also did not

significantly

> alter secretion of the peptide hormones or DHEA-S. Their conclusion

is

> that gold does not appear to influence endogenous adrenal hormone

> secretion.

>

> In summary, there are diverse neurological and glandular side

effects

> occasionally observed in response to gold-containing medications.

> These effects are further evidence suggesting that gold may play a

> role in these systems.

>

>

> How Much Gold is Necessary for a Pharmacological Effect?

>

> Conventional gold therapy uses rather large doses, typically more

than

> 1 mg per day. But there is some evidence that very low doses of gold

> can have pharmacological effects.

>

> The gold drugs used in rheumatoid arthritis are typically

administered

> in very large doses. Yet the relationship between dosage and

response

> is not simple. Speight and Holford (1997) say, " Dosages as low as 10

> mg/week appear to be no different from 50 mg/week, which in turn is

as

> effective as 150 mg/week " (p. 1129). Given that toxicity is often

seen

> at high doses, how little gold can still produce a therapeutic

effect?

>

> Effects have occasionally been seen with very low doses of gold.

> Mulherin, Struthers, & Situnayake (1997) examined the hypothesis

that

> gold rings might protect against erosion of the finger joints in

> rheumatoid arthritis. They found that there is less articular

erosion

> at the left hand ring finger joints, and perhaps adjacent joints.

> Their hypothesis is that gold could pass from a gold ring through

the

> skin and local lymphatics to nearby joints in sufficient quantities

to

> delay articular erosion. Since metallic gold has been seen as

> virtually inert in biological systems, especially when present only

at

> the skin surface, a therapeutic effect is surprising. But there is

> some historical support for this notion. In 14th century England,

> " cramp rings " were used to relieve muscular pains or spasms, and

> particularly epilepsy. Gold coins were placed by the king on a

church

> altar, removed, and made into rings (Bloch, 1961). We have no

reliable

> information concerning their effectiveness.

>

> Belt and Kaarela (1998) and Bolosiu (1998) have expressed skepticism

> of the low-dose gold hypothesis. But gold has been measured in

> significantly greater concentrations in fingernails nearer gold

rings

> by Kanabrocki, Case, Graham, Fields, Oester, & Kaplan (1968), a fact

> apparently unknown either to Mulherin et al., or to Bolosiu and Belt

> and Kaarela. Kanabrocki et al. noted, " Only speculation can be made

on

> the mode of transport of gold from wedding bands to the

fingernail, " a

> situation that is still the case.

>

> Klinkhoff and Teufel (1995), in an article entitled, " How low can

you

> go? " explored the minimum effective dose of gold for rheumatoid

> arthritis. They identified a group of patients with sensitivity to

> both the beneficial effects and the side effects of gold. They found

> that doses as low as 2 mg every 4 weeks could result in major

> improvement, and concluded that the minimum effective dose is not

> known. (This contrasts with the standard daily dose of 10 to 50

> mg/week for parenteral gold, and of 6 mg/day for oral gold (Goodman,

> Rall, Nies, & , 1990)). This is still far more than the dose

of

> gold available from a gold ring, but is further evidence that

> physiological effects do not require large doses of gold.

> Interestingly, it is similar to the amount of gold in prescriptions

> for neurological and other disorders by Cayce in the early-20th

> century (Cayce, 1993).

>

>

> The Modern Use of Colloidal Gold as a Nervine in Alternative

Medicine

>

> Although gold is not in use as a nervine at present in mainstream

> medicine, its use has recently been explored in alternative

medicine.

> Instead of the modern gold-containing drugs, or the gold chloride

used

> historically, colloidal gold has become popular. Colloidal gold is

> very fine particles of metallic gold (from 2 nm to 150 nm),

suspended

> in water. As discussed earlier in the historical section, colloidal

> gold may have been the first form used as a nervine, as far back as

> the ancient Chinese and Indian alchemists (Mahdihassan, 1985).

> According to Abraham (1996) it is not toxic, but little is known

about

> its physiological effects. In mainstream medicine, colloidal gold is

> generally thought to be biologically inert, and is used in electron

> microscopy studies for that reason. By attaching it to

macromolecules

> such as antibodies, these molecules can be tracked to the locations

> where they are active without affecting their functions (Polak &

> Varndell, 1984) note, " Fortunately, upon adsorption, full biological

> activity of the macromolecules is preserved. " Yet Abraham reports

that

> colloidal gold can have significant biological effects.

>

> Abraham and Himmel (1997) used colloidal gold to treat rheumatoid

> arthritis. They studied 10 severe cases, orally administering 30 mg

of

> colloidal gold per day. There was no clinical evidence or laboratory

> evidence of toxicity in any of the patients. The effects of the gold

> on the tenderness and swelling of joints were rapid and dramatic.

> Evaluated individually, nine of the 10 patients improved markedly

> after 24 weeks of colloidal gold.

>

> Abraham, McReynolds, and Dill (1998) explored the potential of

> colloidal gold as a nervine. Encouraged by pilot work suggesting

> improved cognition and well-being (Abraham, 1996), they conducted a

> study to see if gold could improve cognitive functioning. They

tested

> cognitive ability using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WAIS-R)

> before and after four weeks on colloidal gold at 30 mg/day. After

four

> weeks on colloidal gold, there was a 20% increase in IQ scores. The

> effect of the colloidal gold persisted in three subjects after one

to

> two months off gold, whereas in two subjects who took the test three

> months after stopping the gold, IQ scores were down to baseline

> levels. While a study of this small size is very preliminary, it is

> encouraging evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, and as a

> demonstration of a non-toxic preparation.

>

>

> Directions for Future Research

>

> Future research could focus on two aspects of gold: exploring the

> effects of gold supplementation on neurological conditions, and

> establishing whether naturally occurring gold is an essential trace

> element.

>

> Two approaches might be taken in exploring the effects of gold

> supplementation. The first consists of attending to the side effects

> of gold medications in cases where there is co-morbidity of

rheumatoid

> arthritis and a neurological, psychiatric, or glandular disorder.

For

> example, one could ask, do patients with epilepsy, depression, or

> adrenal insufficiency who may be receiving gold for arthritis show

any

> improvement in neurological/glandular symptoms? Although

neurological

> adverse effects are rare, beneficial side effects might be found.

>

> The second approach is to administer gold with the intention of

> affecting a neurological or glandular condition. This is more

> challenging, since little is known about effective or toxic doses.

The

> bioavailability of different gold compounds is an important

> consideration in exploring the effects of gold supplementation.

There

> are substantial differences in the efficacy and side effects of the

> organic gold salts used for rheumatoid arthritis, and individual

> idiosyncrasies in response. As noted previously, it has been

difficult

> to establish a dose-response relationship for gold (Speight &

Holford,

> 1997). Gold chloride, a favorite in the 19th century, is now used

> primarily as a test for allergic skin reactions, not internally, so

> nothing is known about its metabolism. And colloidal gold, as noted

> above, should have very little physiological interaction at all,

> although Abraham and Himmel (1997) present evidence to the contrary.

> An advantage to using colloidal gold is that is has no known adverse

> effects. Animal studies with gold chloride as well as the current

gold

> medications might also be productive.

>

> Establishing gold as an essential trace element is another

challenging

> task. The few studies cited here are encouraging. A systematic

> exploration of the concentrations of gold in cerebrospinal fluid,

> blood, and neurological and glandular tissue could be performed. The

> results would be interesting in neurological disorders and tumors

> (e.g., El-Yazigi et al., 1984), glandular disorders (e.g., Skandhan

&

> Abraham, 1984) and developing infants (e.g., Kauf et al., 1984). But

> much further research will be needed to confirm these observations

and

> determine gold's biological role. There are thousands of studies on

> such elements as chromium and boron, which have only recently been

> suggested as essential nutrients (Nielsen, 1990). It takes on the

> average about 30-40 years for the general acceptance and application

> of the discovery of a new essential trace element (Mertz, 1998).

> Studies in both animals and humans will need to address specific

> physiological roles, effects from deficiencies, and interactions

with

> metabolic stressors.

>

> This research has the potential for re-establishing gold as a

> significant therapeutic agent in a much wider range of disorders

than

> those for which it is currently used. And it could help in sorting

out

> valid from invalid claims of benefits from supplementation.

>

>

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>

> , I. (1987). Gold therapy and its indications in dermatology.

> Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 16, 845-854.

>

> Usuba, Y., Aiba, S., Hashimoto, K., Tanita, Y., & Sakai, K. (1989).

A

> fatal case of pemphigus vulgaris with interstitial pneumonia

occurring

> during gold therapy. Nippon Hifuka Gakkai Zasshi, 99, 725-730.

>

> Vernay, D., Dubost, J. J., Thevenet, J. P., Sauvezie, B., & Rampon,

S.

> (1986). " Choree fibrillaire de Morvan " followed by Guillain-Barre

> syndrome in a patient receiving gold therapy [letter]. Arthritis and

> Rheumatism, 29, 1413-1414.

>

> Warren, H. V. (1989). Geology, trace elements and health. Social

> Science and Medicine, 29, 923-926.

>

> Weatherall, M. (1993). Drug therapies. In Bynum, W. F., & Roper, R.

> Eds. Companion encyclopedia of the history of medicine. NY:

Routledge,

> pp. 915-938.

>

> Weisman, M. H., Albert, D., Mueller, M. R., Zvaifler, N. J.,

Hesketh,

> S. A., & Shragg, G. P. (1983). Gold therapy in patients with

systemic

> lupus erythematosus. American Journal of Medicine, 75, 157-164.

>

> Weiss, J. J., , G. R., & Lazaro, R. (1982). Gold toxicity

> presenting as peripheral neuropathy. Clinical Rheumatology, 1, 285-

> 289.

>

>

> Meridian Institute Homepage

>

[Guest guest]

yes, I believe the salts are prescribed only for RA.

Kanner’s boy ‘recovered’ through intramascular injections of gold, nowdays they prescribe oral version gold salts for RA, mostly brand called Aurinofin (called something else as well, begins with R, look it up on wiki)

oral gold has fewer side effects than injected one, but still has some (mostly short lived after stopping) and it takes a bit longer than intramascular to start working.

I'm actually looking into this for myself as there have been indications re oral salts helping fight periodontitis, but sadly don’t think I could get it prescribed for myself for that

nx

Interesting, Natasa.

I had been wondering about gold since reading about the Kanner

patient whose autism substantially improved after his arthritis was

treated with gold salts. It looks as though these salts may still be

available, but only for rheumatoid arthritis. So mercury kills off

nervous connections and gold stimulates regeneration?

One thing not mentioned is the potential effect of gold crowns in the

mouth.

It would be interesting to try the gold salts, but the injected form

I would guess was the one the Kanner patient had and would be hard to

obtain. My aunt used to have gold injections into her hip joint. The

injection itself was painful, but the relief, which started a few

days later, would last for quite a while. (I was actually thinking of

asking my doctor about gold salts because I am experiencing chronic

joint pain which I am self-treating with aspirin, and I'm not

supposed to take NSAIDs because of other medication.)

Margaret

>

> http://www.meridianinstitute.com/ceu/ceu25gol.html

>

> Meridian

> Institute

> RESEARCHING THE SPIRIT-MIND-BODY CONNECTION

>

>

> Gold And Its Relationship To Neurological/Glandular Conditions

>

> G. s, Ph.D., L. McMillin, M.A.,

> A. Mein, M.D., Carl D. , D.C.

>

> Meridian Institute

>

> International Journal of Neuroscience

> 2002, Volume 112, pages 31-53

>

> [Click here to view this document in Adobe Acrobat format (2.34

MB).]

>

>

> Abstract

>

> Despite increasing sales of gold supplements, and claims of benefits

> for neurological and glandular conditions, gold has received little

> attention in modern medical literature except as a drug for

rheumatoid

> arthritis. Historically, however, gold had a reputation as a

> " nervine, " a therapy for nervous disorders. A review of the

historical

> literature shows gold in use during the 19th century for conditions

> including depression, epilepsy, migraine, and glandular problems

> including amenorrhea and impotence. The most notable use of gold was

> in a treatment for alcoholism developed by E. Keeley, M.D. In

> the modern medical literature, gold-containing medicines for

> rheumatoid arthritis are known to have occasional neurotoxic adverse

> effects. There are also a few studies suggesting a role for gold as

a

> naturally occurring trace element in the reproductive glands. One

> small recent study demonstrated a possible positive effect of gold

on

> cognitive ability. There is a need for more experimental and

clinical

> research into the neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of gold, and

> exploration of gold's possible role as a trace element.

>

>

> Gold and its Relationship to Neurological/Glandular Conditions

>

> The modern use of gold-containing medicines focuses primarily on

> rheumatoid arthritis, with some recent attention to other

> anti-inflammatory uses of gold, and to new anticancer and

> antimicrobial gold drugs (Fricker, 1998). Otherwise, in mainstream

> medicine, gold has been seen as a metal with little biological

> relevance. In contrast, the benefits suggested for gold-containing

> supplements, widely available in health food stores and over the

> Internet, address a variety of conditions including alcoholism,

> depression, and gland function (e.g., http://www.colloidalgold.com,

> 2001; http://www.topsilver.com, 2001). Is there any support for a

> neuropharmacologic effect of gold?

>

> Although there is very little modern research on these applications

> for gold, historically one notable use of gold was as a " nervine, " a

> substance that could revitalize people suffering from nervous

> conditions, what today we would call neurological and psychiatric

> disorders such as epilepsy and depression. This paper will review

the

> historical use of gold as a healing agent for the nervous and

> glandular systems, and then look at recent literature pointing to a

> biological role in these systems for gold.

>

> Goodwin and Goodwin (1984) in the Journal of the American Medical

> Association, have addressed what they term the " tomato effect, "

> rejection of highly efficacious therapies. The analogy is with the

> long-held belief that tomatoes were poisonous, despite evidence to

the

> contrary. The tomato effect contrasts with the placebo effect,

where a

> positive (but spurious) response causes therapies to be accepted

which

> are later shown to be useless or harmful. The Goodwins use gold as

an

> example of the tomato effect. The original rationale behind the use

of

> gold for rheumatoid arthritis was its effectiveness as an antibiotic

> for tuberculosis (with the assumption that rheumatoid arthritis was

a

> related infectious disease). When, by 1945, the infectious theory of

> rheumatoid arthritis was discarded, gold therapy fell into disfavor,

> despite its proven effectiveness. " Gold started to regain its former

> popularity only when the medical community accepted both the

evidence

> of gold's efficacy and medicine's ignorance of gold's mechanism of

> action. The fact that gold now has an unknown mechanism of action ñ

is

> a truly idiopathic medicine ñ is no longer an impediment to its use,

> because rheumatoid arthritis has become an idiopathic disease " (p.

> 2389).

>

> The intent of this paper is to explore a similar situation for gold

> and neurological/glandular disorders. Neither the causes of the

> disorders nor the mechanism of gold are known, yet there are reports

> pointing to a possible involvement of naturally-occurring gold in

the

> nervous and glandular systems, and evidence from historical sources

of

> a possible efficacy of gold in therapy for neurological disorders.

>

>

> Historical Review of Gold as a Nervine

>

> Gold has a therapeutic history in both Eastern and Western

traditions.

> Mahdihassan (1985) has explored the historical use of gold in

Eastern

> traditions. The Chinese were the first to prepare and use red

> colloidal gold as the alchemical drug of longevity. The word alchemy

> derives from two Chinese words: Kim (gold) and Yeh (juice). Kimyeh

> (gold juice) entered the Arabic language as kimiya, and with the

> definite article, al, the arabic word for the red colloidal gold was

> alkimiya, which in the Western world, gave the word alchemy. The

> procedure for the preparation of red colloidal gold is still in use

> today in India, prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians for rejuvenation

> and revitalization in old age under the name of Swarna Bhasma (red

> gold).

>

> There is modern scientific support for at least one effect of

Eastern

> gold preparations on the nervous system. Bajaj and Vohora (1998)

> studied the analgesic activity of gold preparations used in Ayurveda

> and Unani-Tibb, two Indian medical traditions. Two calcined gold

> preparations were compared to the modern antiarthritis gold drug

> auranofin in rats, using four types of noxious stimuli. Both the

> Indian drugs and auranofin exhibited analgesic activity. The

analgesic

> effects of the two Indian drugs could be partly blocked by

> pretreatment with naloxone (an opiate antagonist), but not the

effects

> of the auranofin. The authors feel that this suggests involvement of

> an opioidergic mechanism for the Indian drugs.

>

> The use of gold in Western medicine as a nervine has a long history

as

> well. The medieval alchemists, like their Eastern counterparts, and

> probably drawing on the traditions of Eastern alchemy, sought a form

> of gold that could be internally consumed, " potable gold, " as the

> elixir of life. Paracelsus, in the 16th century, recommended

> preparations of gold in his therapy for epilepsy (Temkin, 1971). By

> the beginning of the 17th century, alchemists were clearly able to

> produce the soluble salt gold trichloride (Higby, 1982). By the mid

> 17th century, gold was in use as a nervine:

>

> " A gold cordial could be found in the new pharmacopoeias of the 17th

> century and was advocated by Culpepper for the treatment of

> ailments caused by a decrease in the vital spirits, such as

> melancholy, fainting, fevers, and falling sickness [epilepsy] "

> (Fricker, 1996). This is notable because it includes a grouping of

> what today would be called neurological/psychiatric disorders (e.g.,

> depression, epilepsy).

>

> By the beginning of the 19th century, gold had become a recognized

> (although probably not very effective) treatment for syphilis, a

> disease causing dementia among other serious symptoms. In 1821 the

> Frenchman J. A. Chrestien published " Researches and observations on

> the effects of preparations of gold in the treatment of many

diseases

> and notably in syphilitic maladies " (Niel & Chrestien, 1821).

> Chrestien was a notable physician of the time, with a degree from

the

> University of Montpelier, and memberships in the Royal Academy of

> Paris, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid, and many other

learned

> societies. His interest in gold came from the observation that it

had

> milder side effects than mercury (the common treatment for syphilis

at

> the time). He was also apparently the first to notice that in

> occasional cases treatment with gold produced an increase in

vitality

> and intellectual faculties, and had a stimulating effect on the

glands

> and sexual functioning. Chrestien and those who followed him used

gold

> trichloride as their form of gold.

>

> In 1879, Compton Burnett published a lengthy treatise on the

use

> of gold in medicine. Burnett was a medical doctor, a homeopath, and

a

> prolific author (27 books listed in the National Library of Medicine

> catalog). Burnett traced the modern use of gold back to Chrestien's

> first book in 1811, but gave credit to earlier figures as well. He

> noted that the ingestion of gold is mentioned in the Bible (Exodus

> 32:20), and that the Chinese were using it in 2500 BC, according to

> Wiegleb's History of Alchemy in 1777. He traced its use in a

diversity

> of disorders, including neurological and glandular problems such as

> epilepsy, sterility, and diseases of the uterus, to the publication

of

> De Auri Tinctura sive Auro Potabili Vero, etc. by Glauber in

Amsterdam

> in 1651. He also noted that, " Hahnemann [ Hahnemann, the

> originator of homeopathy] mentions nearly thirty authors (1698-1730)

> who praise Gold as a valuable remedy in various diseases such as

> melancholiaÖ " (p. 91).

>

> According to Burnett, Chrestien's use of gold was at first opposed

by

> the medical profession, which had abandoned the use of gold in

> medicine. However, after Chrestien's publication, gold regained its

> popularity. Burnett cites Legrand's (1828) account, the Medicinal

> Properties of Gold, in which he lists 80 medical men of the time,

who

> became known as " auralists, " who were exploring the use of gold.

> Burnett says, " Gold is an excitantÖThe patients feel an

indescribable

> sense of well-being, they feel themselves lighten (as they express

> it), so that we may say that Gold possesses hilariant properties.

The

> intellectual faculties are more active. It has been known to produce

> frequent erotic salacity going on to painful priapism. M Legrand,

> however, states that he has not used it as an aphrodisiac, but it

has

> been used as such with success " (p. 49). Burnett also says, " Some

are

> of the opinion that Gold belongs to that class of noble metals, such

> as silver and copper, which exert a powerful influence on the

nervous

> system. Of this opinion is Vogt (Pharmaco-dynamik) " (p. 57).

>

> Burnett was also well aware of the toxic effects of high doses of

> gold. He identifies himself as a homeopath, but had a different

> philosophy than many homeopaths. In traditional homeopathy, the

remedy

> is an extremely high dilution of a substance, so high that not even

a

> single molecule remains. It was Hahnemann's alternative to " heroic "

> medicine, which involved high doses that were frequently toxic.

> Burnett took a middle course, resembling the approach of 20th

century

> medicine. He preferred low dilutions, as opposed to high ones. Thus

> his recommended dosage of gold is 3/100 or 9/100 of a grain. Since a

> grain is 65 milligrams, this would range from 1.95 mg to 5.85 mg.

This

> is very close to the range of daily dose of modern antiarthritic

> drugs, e.g., the 6 mg per day (1.74 mg of gold, at 29% gold)

standard

> dose of auranofin. It seems possible, then, that Burnett did find an

> effective dose of gold with relatively low toxicity.

>

> By the end of the 19th century, and in the first half of the 20th

> century, gold is listed as a treatment for nervous disorders in

> sources ranging from medical texts to the first Merck manual.

>

> In discussing the treatment of asthma, for example, Eichhorst (1886)

> in his Handbook of Practical Medicine says, " In nervous individuals,

> resort should be had to the nervines: bromide of potassium,

valerian,

> arsenic, auronatrium chloratum [gold sodium chloride], zinc, copper,

> and silver preparations, etc. " (p. 236) Bromide of potassium and

> valerian are still used for treatment of nervous disorders, and

> arsenic came into use in the early 1900s as a treatment for

syphilis,

> which has neurological manifestations.

>

> Potter (1894), in his Materia Medica, based on the U.S.

Pharmacopoeia

> of 1890, describes the effects of small doses of gold: " The Salts of

> Gold promote appetite and digestion, stimulate the cerebral

functions,

> and produce a marked mental exhilaration, a sense of well-being.

> Continued, they induce aphrodisiac effects in both sexes, and in

women

> an increase of the menstrual dischargeÖ.Amenorrhea and Impotence, of

> the functional kind, - may be cured by it. " He is also well aware of

> the toxic effects of too large a dose, resembling those of mercury,

> and including " nausea and vomiting, glandular irritationÖviolent

> gastroenteritis, mental disturbance, convulsions, priapism,

trembling,

> paralysis. " This recognition of both kinds of effects is

significant,

> since later in this paper the adverse effects of gold will be

> discussed as a possible indicator of areas particularly sensitive to

> the therapeutic effects of lower doses of gold.

>

> The 1899 Merck's Manual lists gold under " aphrodisiacs " (p. 187).

Gold

> bromide is an " anti-epileptic, anodyne, nervine, " used

for, " epilepsy,

> migraine, etc.; said to act, in small doses, quickly and

continuously,

> without bromism " (p. 38). Bromides, particularly potassium bromide,

> were first used as nervines in the mid-19th century, to treat

> epilepsy, insomnia, nervous excitement and irritability (Leake,

1975).

> They were the first effective anti-seizure medicine. It is not clear

> exactly when gold bromide began to be used, but it appears that it

was

> found to be effective in a smaller dose than potassium bromide used

> alone. For example, the standard dose of gold bromide was given in

> Merck's Manual as 1/10 to 1/5 grain, 2 to 3 times daily. This can be

> contrasted with a standard dose of potassium bromide, of 5 to 60

> grains (Garber, 1942), or of sodium bromide (10-60 grains, Garber,

> 1942; 5-30 grains, Dorland, 1908). and Baumann (1999) give

modern

> guidelines for bromide dosage in epilepsy- might gold bromide allow

a

> lower dose to be effective?

>

> Hare (1912) in his Text Book of Practical Therapeutics , notes " it

> [gold sodium chloride] is said to act as a powerful sexual stimulant

> and to be of service in impotence dependent upon inability to obtain

> an erection or when there is deficient glandular action " (p. 274).

> Page 900 in Hare lists a standard dose of " gold and sodium chloride "

> as 1/20 ñ 1/10 grain (3 ñ 6 mg), and " gold bromide " as 1/8-1/2 grain

> (8 ñ 30 mg).

>

> Fomon (1920) in his book Medicine and the Allied Sciences, in the

> section on Materia Medica and Therapeutics: Agents Producing

Changes,

> says gold (as chloride of gold sodium) " stimulates the nervous

> system, " " stimulates the sexual organs, " and is employed in

> therapeutics as an aphrodisiac, an alterative in chronic diseases,

and

> in the Keeley cure for alcoholism and opiumism.

>

> Even as late as 1942, Stedman's Practical Medical Dictionary

(Garber,

> 1942) lists gold bromide as employed in epilepsy, headache, and as a

> nerve sedative. Double chloride of gold and sodium is listed as an

> alterative (a medicine that produces a favorable change in the

> processes of nutrition and repair, Dorland, 1908) and tonic.

Finally,

> Stedman's notes the Keeley cure or gold cure, " a secret method of

> treatment of alcoholism, said to be by the administration of

> strychnine and gold chloride. " Actually, based on Keeley's own

> writings (Keeley, 1897), strychnine is unlikely to be a component of

> Keeley's cure.

>

> The most interesting use of gold in treatment is the gold cure of

> E. Keeley, M.D. (1832-1900). Keeley's great discovery was

that

> the chloride of gold and sodium (prepared by mixing gold chloride

and

> sodium chloride) was an effective treatment for addictions,

including

> morphine/opium and cocaine addiction as well as alcoholism. In the

> 19th century, a variety of medications were used in an effort to

ease

> withdrawal symptoms and cure addictions. Most, such as atropine and

> strychnine, were so toxic that they were of little use. Even gold

> chloride was too caustic for internal consumption. Keeley found that

> he had to carefully monitor patients for toxic effects. Then,

however,

> he discovered that mixing gold chloride with sodium chloride and a

> substance which he kept secret produced a cure for addiction that

> " accomplishes this quietly and mildly, without any shock or reactive

> effects " (Keeley, 1897, p. 82).

>

> Keeley was well aware of the history of gold in medicine, citing

> numerous researchers who had worked with gold in the treatment of

> diseases including syphilis and tuberculosis, but noting the

problems

> with gold toxicity (that his discovery had solved). Keeley had

> excellent powers of observation. For example, in the course of

> treating addictions, he noted: " In opium patients whose bodies are

> covered with nodulations, sores, pimples, blotches, tumors, and

> ulcers, resulting from the poison of the " drug, " remarkable effects

> have been produced by the use of gold. The sores rapidly heal up and

> pass away, even without the use of any liniment or local application

> whatever " (p. 84). Gold medications are now a recognized replacement

> for steroids in treating serious skin conditions (, 1987).

>

> Included in Keeley's book is a copy of an editorial from the Chicago

> Tribune, February 13, 1894. The editorial discusses Keeley's

> remarkable record, citing a recent summary of 1000 cases, of which

> over 90% seemed to have achieved a long-term cure of their

addictions.

> Other evidence of the efficacy of Keeley's gold therapy includes the

> testimonial of (1893), who wrote a detailed description of his

> own experiences in Keeley's program, and a historical discussion of

> the Keeley League by Barclay (1964).

>

> Higby (1982) cites an estimate as high as 100,000 patients treated

> with gold by Keeley, and notes that by the mid-1890s, over 30,000

> former Keeley patients joined clubs, " dedicated to the twin goals of

> mutual support and spreading the gospel of Dr. Keeley's marvelous

gold

> treatment " (p. 138). Unfortunately, Keeley's exact formula was kept

a

> closely guarded secret, and the use of gold in treatment of

alcoholism

> at Keeley Institutes ceased with Keeley's death. Higby calls for

more

> historical research on the Keeley gold cure, since Keeley probably

> administered more medicinal gold than anyone before or since.

Despite

> the absence of formal scientific study, Keeley's success in treating

> addictions such as alcohol and morphine is impressive historical

> evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, given that these

> problems are still very difficult to treat.

>

> The use of gold as a therapy not only for alcoholism, but for a

> variety of neurological and glandular disorders, continued into the

> 1940s in the work of Edgar Cayce. Callan (1979) in the first

editorial

> addressing holistic medicine in the Journal of the American Medical

> Association, credits Cayce with the origin of holistic medicine in

> America. Cayce followed the philosophy evident in Barnett: very

small

> doses ( < 1 mg) of gold chloride taken orally. The gold was buffered

> with either sodium bicarbonate or sodium bromide, presumably to

reduce

> toxicity. Although there were testimonials to the efficacy of

Cayce's

> treatments (Cayce, 1993), no controlled studies of the use of gold

> were conducted in his time.

>

> Nineteenth century microscopists also discovered an application for

> gold in exploration of the nervous system. Gold salts have been

> employed in neurological staining for light microscopy since

Cohnheim

> in 1866 (, 1983). Ramon y Cajal (1995) notes that Gerlach in

1871

> stained with gold chloride and was able to enhance the distinction

> between white and gray matter in sections, and to obtain an

> unprecedented degree of contrast. Gurr (1962) lists several stains

in

> modern use containing gold chloride, for neuroglia fibers,

astrocytes,

> nerve fibers, sheaths and cells, and even for nerve fibers of

> planarians.

>

> The affinity of gold for the nervous system and the implications of

> this for the treatment of nervous disorders was remarked on by

Keeley

> (1897): " The use of gold by the histologist to develop microscopical

> nerves may, perhaps, be said to indicate that nerve fibre has a

> peculiar affinity for that metal. The application of it in solution

> brings out nerves which otherwise would be invisible. When the fact

is

> recognized that absorption by lifeless fibre is quite unlike

> assimilation or reconstruction of that which is vitalized, then the

> development of lifeless microscopic nerves by a solution of gold may

> be in part owing to some of the recondite forces which cause the

gold,

> taken into circulation, to reconstruct living ones " (p. 82).

>

> A similar approach to drug discovery was held by Ehrlich

> (1854-1915). " Ehrlich's earliest observations dealt with the

staining

> of tissues for microscopic examination, and so with the processes by

> which particular dyestuffs combined with and were fixed to specific

> components of the tissues. Ehrlich supposed that the action of drugs

> in bodily organs was likely to involve similar fixationÖ As an early

> test of this thesis, he treated a small number of malarial patients

> with the dye methylene blue, which was known to stain (that is, be

> fixed by) the malaria parasite, and he showed that it had a modest

> therapeutic effect " (Weatherall, 1993, p. 925).

>

> (1985), in a review of therapeutic uses of trace elements in

> neurological/psychiatric disorders, notes that while metal compounds

> have been administered for several centuries, the scientific basis

for

> treatment with trace elements began with the use of gold compounds,

> initially in patients with tuberculosis and later those with

> rheumatoid arthritis. He points out the other important uses of

trace

> elements, including " the central nervous system where the use of

> lithium has provided spectacular results in the treatment of

affective

> and other disorders. " Lithium carbonate is a simple metal salt with

> major effects; the same may be possible for gold salts. It is

> interesting that the first use of lithium in medicine was lithium

> bromide in the 19th century (, 1992); gold bromide was also

used,

> for epilepsy.

>

> To summarize the relevance of the historical uses of gold, it is

clear

> that there is a long tradition of gold as a nervine. But there were

no

> multicenter clinical trials; that is a modern phenomenon. There were

> only observations and reports of individual cases. Keeley's work

> stands out in this regard, but there is no other scientific support

> for his claims; as with most of 19th century medicine, there are

only

> testimonials. Yet this work can be seen as a source of hypotheses

for

> testing with present day methods.

>

> As 20th century medicine developed, gold disappeared from the

> pharmacopoeias, except in the case of rheumatoid arthritis.

Forestier

> (1935) demonstrated its effectiveness in arthritis, although the

> popularity of gold and belief in its effectiveness has waxed and

waned

> (Goodwin & Goodwin, 1984). Yet there appears to be no early 20th

> century literature on the efficacy of gold for neurological and

> glandular conditions, either pro or con. And the possible biological

> role of gold as a naturally-occurring trace element was not explored

> at all until recently.

>

>

> The Biological Role of Naturally Occurring Gold

>

> There is a continuum of effects with increasing concentration in the

> biological activity of elements, from beneficial physiological

effects

> as trace elements, to pharmacological effects, to toxic effects at

> high doses (Mertz, 1998). As described above, the pharmacological

and

> toxic effects of gold were well known historically, although the

> pharmacological application is more limited today. But very few

> studies of trace elements in the body have included gold. However,

> those few studies have shown that naturally occurring gold is found

> concentrated in glandular and reproductive tissues, and, in the

> female, its concentration cycles with the reproductive cycle.

>

> iou, Grimanis, Grimani, Papaevangelou, Koumantakis, and

Papadatos

> (1977) measured trace elements, including gold, in human placenta

and

> newborn liver at birth. They found gold in significantly higher

> concentrations (3-fold higher) in placenta than liver tissue.

Because

> some essential trace elements (Zinc, Cobalt and Selenium) were found

> in higher concentrations in the liver tissue, iou et al.

conclude

> that gold is a non-essential trace element. An alternative may be

that

> gold is specifically involved in reproductive glandular activity, as

> discussed below.

>

> Hagenfeldt, Landgren, Plantin, and Diczfaluzy (1977) measured trace

> elements, including gold, in the human endometrium and decidua,

> looking for cyclic variations, including those during pregnancy. It

> had been previously established that there are significant cyclic

> variations in major elements with known importance, such as sodium,

> potassium, and copper. Using uteri from women undergoing

hysterectomy,

> they found that the levels of gold were similar in the endometrium

and

> the decidua. There were cyclic variations in gold (as well as a

number

> of other elements), which were significant at the p<0.05 level. They

> reported that the levels of gold were slightly lower around midcycle

> than at other stages of the cycle, but the physiological

significance

> of these changes is unknown.

>

> In the male reproductive system, Skandhan and Abraham (1984)

measured

> gold in semen, and noted that, " this is the richest source of gold

> reported in biological materials " (p. 587). They also speculated

that,

> since gold was not seen in one pathological sample with

> asthenozoospermia, that may be an indication that reduction of this

> trace element led to this pathology.

>

> Kauf, Wiesner, Niese, and Plenert (1984) measured the amounts of a

> number of trace elements in the hair of newborn infants. They noted,

> " The investigation of trace elements in the hair of babies resulted

in

> the remarkable observation that in the first three months of life

> zinc, copper and gold contents shows a considerable increase to

> multiple levels of the birth values, followed by a decreaseÖIt must

be

> emphasized that gold, although classified as a non-essential trace

> element, behaves in the hair of infants just like the

physiologically

> important essential trace elements zinc and copper " (p. 299).

>

> One major source on trace elements in neurological disease is the

work

> of Gooddy, , and (1974). The 1974 study, which

> summarizes the results of several studies by previous researchers,

> does not give values for gold. They do, however, point out the

> importance of many trace elements in enzyme systems. The discovery

of

> the biological activity of these elements has largely depended on

> development of technology for measuring them at very low levels.

They

> point out the great metabolic importance of copper, and note that

the

> vertical neighbors of copper (in the periodic table of elements

> indicating some similar properties), silver and gold, " are known

> medically almost as curiosities, with some rare therapeutic and

toxic

> properties " (p. 330). Given this observation, it is not clear why

they

> failed to measure these elements in their study.

>

> El-Yazigi, Al-Saleh, and Al-Mefty (1984) looked at both silver and

> gold, as well as a variety of other trace elements, in cerebrospinal

> fluid (CSF) of patients with cerebral neoplasms (brain tumors). The

> concentration of silver was markedly increased in patients with

> malignant tumors; the malignant tumor/control patient concentration

> ratio was 2.31. They state that the biochemical mechanism of this

> increased concentration is unknown. Interestingly, though there was

no

> consistent relationship between gold and tumor vs. control subjects,

> for the single patient with pinealblastoma the concentration of gold

> was about twice the concentration for the controls or other tumor

> types.

>

> El-Yazigi, Kanaan, , and Siquiera (1990) also looked at other

> trace elements in the CSF, in particular platinum. They note that

> there are no previous values in the literature for platinum in the

> CSF. They found that platinum, in the opposite direction from

silver,

> is depleted in patients with tumors. Platinum is known to react with

> DNA, and has treatment uses in cancer, as well as mutagenic

> properties. Platinum is also adjacent to gold in the periodic table

of

> elements (the highly neurotoxic mercury is on the other side of

gold,

> and toxic lead is close by). The platinum concentrations in the

> control group were 11.4 (SD 1.7) micrograms/liter. This is about 1/3

> of the concentration of gold from the other study. In patients with

> tumors, the platinum concentration is about half this level.

>

> Are there dietary sources of this gold? This can be an important

> issue, since dietary factors may be responsible for many of the

> reported inconsistent and divergent findings in trace element

research

> (Nielsen, 1985). Warren (1989) looked at potential sources of gold

in

> the diet. He noted that in 1981 gold was found in honey bee pollen

in

> amounts as high as 0.9 ppm (dry weight). He found two plants (in

> British Columbia, Canada) that conceivably could provide gold in the

> diet, either to honeybees or perhaps directly ñ Phacelia sericea and

> Dryas drummondi ñ which carry 25-50 times as much gold as any other

> plants with which they are associated. Mahler, , Walsh, and

> Haynie (1970), in a study of trace metals, including gold, in

> fingernails and hair, note the importance of differences in

> environmental sources of gold in different areas. , ,

> , and Simcock (1998) have shown that " hyperaccumulator "

plants,

> such as Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) can uptake and store large

> amounts of gold, up to 100 times that found in most plants. Any

study

> of naturally occurring gold needs to address dietary sources.

>

> These few reports show that naturally occurring gold is found in

> nervous and glandular tissue, behaves in some cases like an

essential

> trace element, and may change in concentration in correlation with

> certain diseases.

>

>

> Therapeutic Gold and the Nervous/Glandular Systems

>

> Adverse effects of drugs can be an indicator of related therapeutic

> effects at lower dosages. The therapeutic and adverse effects of

gold

> in living organisms are varied and paradoxical. Several different

gold

> salts are currently in use: gold sodium thiomalate and gold

> thioglucose, both administered by injection, and auranofin, a

complex

> organic gold salt taken orally. The primary therapeutic use of gold

is

> in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (Kean, Forestier,

Buchanan, &

> Rooney, 1985), but there are many other less common uses, e.g., as a

> steroid replacement in asthma and skin disorders, and as an

> anti-cancer substance (Fricker, 1996). The primary adverse effects

> include skin and gastrointestinal reactions (Locke & , 1985).

Yet

> gold-containing drugs have numerous rarer side effects, and can

cause

> or exacerbate the same disorders for which they are effective in

> therapy. Gold-containing drugs have been used in place of steroids

in

> therapy for asthma (Bernstein, Bernstein, Dubb, Faiferman, & Wallin,

> 1996; Nierop, Gijzel, Bel, Zwinderman, & Dijkman, 1992), but in

other

> cases have been responsible for respiratory disorders and even death

> (Blackwell & Gossage, 1995; Blancas, Morena, , de la Casa,

> Onoro, & Gomez, 1998). Similarly, gold is used in dermatological

> therapy (e.g., for pemphigus) (, 1987), yet skin disorders

are a

> common side effect of gold medicines, and gold has also been found

to

> cause pemphigus (Usuba, Aiba, Hashimoto, Tanita, & Sakai, 1989). As

> another example, gold may be useful in treating lupus erythematosus

> (Weisman, Albert, Mueller, Zvaifler, Hesketh, & Shragg, 1983;

Dalziel,

> Going, Cartwright, Marks, Beveridge, & Rowell, 1986), yet gold may

> also induce lupus (Korholz, Nuenberger, Gobel, & Wahn, 1988). The

> mechanism of action for these effects is not known (Liebfarth &

> Persellin, 1981).

>

> Neurological adverse effects of gold-containing drugs are rare, but

> diverse.

>

> They include both peripheral and central nervous system effects. At

> first one might think that toxic side effects are evidence against

the

> utility of gold as a nervine. However, there is a therapeutic-toxic

> continuum with all drugs; this was clearly recognized in the 19th

> century by such gold therapists as Burnett (1879) and Keeley (1897).

> The effects may be related to specific gold compounds, dosage, mode

of

> administration (oral, parenteral), and individual idiosyncratic

> responses. Toxicity can often be a pointer to a therapeutic use at a

> lower dose.

>

> Three forms of gold-induced neurological side effects have been

> recognized: (1) painful neuropathy, sometimes accompanied by

insomnia

> and anxiety, (2) peripheral motor neuropathy, and (3) encephalopathy

> with symptoms including depression, delirium, and exogenous

psychoses

> (Schlumpf, Meyer, Ulrich, & Friede, 1983). Some of the case studies

> are mentioned below; they contain references to many other cases.

>

> The variety of peripheral neuropathies includes various forms of

> polyradiculoneuropathy, a general term referring to peripheral

> disorders involving multiple nerve roots. These can include both

> sensory and motor symptoms, with both overactivity and paralysis.

They

> include Morvan's fibrillary chorea, a form of spontaneous muscular

> activity (e.g., Vernay, Dubost, Thevenet, Sauvezie, & Rampon, 1986),

> and a Guillain-Barre-like syndrome with weakness and paralysis

(e.g.,

> Schlumpf et al., 1983). Some of the reports of adverse effects of

gold

> are simply reported as peripheral neuropathy. Weiss, , &

> Lazaro (1982) report a case which was characterized by weakness and

> numbness of the hands and feet in association with hyperalgesia of

the

> palmar surface of the hands. With cessation of gold therapy

> (aurothioglucose), recovery was slow but complete. In general,

> patients typically recover, but slowly, from gold-induced

neuropathy.

>

> Microscopic descriptions of peripheral neuropathy include marked

loss

> of myelinated nerve fibers. In one patient, a nerve biopsy revealed,

> " a chronic polyneuropathy with predominant features of regeneration.

> Such features are clustering of myelinated fibers and the onion

> bulb-like arrangement of Schwann cells around and within such

> clusters " (Schlumpf et al., 1983). This observation is especially

> interesting, since one of the claims for gold as a nervine is for

the

> regeneration of nerves.

>

> Encephalopathy is the general term used for damage to the brain, as

> opposed to the peripheral nerves. Gulliford, Archard, & van't Hoff

> (1985) report a case of gold-induced encephalopathy, as do McAuley,

> Lecky, & Earl (1977) and and sen (1984). Fam, Gordon,

> Sarkosi, Blair, , Harth, & (1984) describe a case of

> gold-induced encephalopathy with cerebral and cerebellar white

matter

> lesions, reversible on withdrawal of gold therapy. Erhardt, Fischer,

> Fischer, & Kern (1978) report a case of cerebro-organic syndrome

> related to gold therapy, consisting of delirium, dementia, and

> amnestic and cognitive disorders.

>

> Schlumpf et al. (1983) note that it is not surprising that

neurologic

> complications can be caused by gold because experimental work in

> animals has shown that gold localizes in nervous system tissue. Gold

> thioglucose, the medicine Solganol used for rheumatoid arthritis,

is a

> well-known neurotoxin in rodents, used in studies of obesity to

> destroy the ventromedial hypothalamus, the part responsible for

> control of eating behavior and metabolism. In addition to obesity,

it

> appears to become concentrated in other glandular tissue such as the

> pancreas (Blech, Bierwolf, Weiss, & Ziegler, 1986), and the thymus

and

> adrenals (Atkins, Lambrecht, Wolf, Ansari, & Guillaume, 1975). It

can

> also cause generalized hypothalamic lesions in the chicken and duck

> (Hopper & Satterlee, 1984). In humans it is interesting that people

> who develop neurological adverse effects from gold sodium thiomalate

> can be successfully changed to gold thioglucose for rheumatoid

> arthritis therapy (Hill, Pile, , & Kirkham, 1995). Clearly

> there are species differences in response to gold compounds, as well

> as pronounced individual differences and dose-related effects.

>

> The question of whether gold affects glandular function in humans is

> still an open one. Chipman, boyar, & Fink (1982) tested the

hypothesis

> that gold therapy enhances endogenous cortisol secretion, using

> juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients. Their preliminary data

> suggested stimulation of cortisol secretion. But the results of the

> more complete study were ambiguous. Cortisol secretion was

> significantly greater in gold treated patients than in similar

> patients not receiving gold. However, when untreated patients were

> restudied after initiation of gold therapy, there was no significant

> change in cortisol secretion. Gold therapy also did not

significantly

> alter secretion of the peptide hormones or DHEA-S. Their conclusion

is

> that gold does not appear to influence endogenous adrenal hormone

> secretion.

>

> In summary, there are diverse neurological and glandular side

effects

> occasionally observed in response to gold-containing medications.

> These effects are further evidence suggesting that gold may play a

> role in these systems.

>

>

> How Much Gold is Necessary for a Pharmacological Effect?

>

> Conventional gold therapy uses rather large doses, typically more

than

> 1 mg per day. But there is some evidence that very low doses of gold

> can have pharmacological effects.

>

> The gold drugs used in rheumatoid arthritis are typically

administered

> in very large doses. Yet the relationship between dosage and

response

> is not simple. Speight and Holford (1997) say, " Dosages as low as 10

> mg/week appear to be no different from 50 mg/week, which in turn is

as

> effective as 150 mg/week " (p. 1129). Given that toxicity is often

seen

> at high doses, how little gold can still produce a therapeutic

effect?

>

> Effects have occasionally been seen with very low doses of gold.

> Mulherin, Struthers, & Situnayake (1997) examined the hypothesis

that

> gold rings might protect against erosion of the finger joints in

> rheumatoid arthritis. They found that there is less articular

erosion

> at the left hand ring finger joints, and perhaps adjacent joints.

> Their hypothesis is that gold could pass from a gold ring through

the

> skin and local lymphatics to nearby joints in sufficient quantities

to

> delay articular erosion. Since metallic gold has been seen as

> virtually inert in biological systems, especially when present only

at

> the skin surface, a therapeutic effect is surprising. But there is

> some historical support for this notion. In 14th century England,

> " cramp rings " were used to relieve muscular pains or spasms, and

> particularly epilepsy. Gold coins were placed by the king on a

church

> altar, removed, and made into rings (Bloch, 1961). We have no

reliable

> information concerning their effectiveness.

>

> Belt and Kaarela (1998) and Bolosiu (1998) have expressed skepticism

> of the low-dose gold hypothesis. But gold has been measured in

> significantly greater concentrations in fingernails nearer gold

rings

> by Kanabrocki, Case, Graham, Fields, Oester, & Kaplan (1968), a fact

> apparently unknown either to Mulherin et al., or to Bolosiu and Belt

> and Kaarela. Kanabrocki et al. noted, " Only speculation can be made

on

> the mode of transport of gold from wedding bands to the

fingernail, " a

> situation that is still the case.

>

> Klinkhoff and Teufel (1995), in an article entitled, " How low can

you

> go? " explored the minimum effective dose of gold for rheumatoid

> arthritis. They identified a group of patients with sensitivity to

> both the beneficial effects and the side effects of gold. They found

> that doses as low as 2 mg every 4 weeks could result in major

> improvement, and concluded that the minimum effective dose is not

> known. (This contrasts with the standard daily dose of 10 to 50

> mg/week for parenteral gold, and of 6 mg/day for oral gold (Goodman,

> Rall, Nies, & , 1990)). This is still far more than the dose

of

> gold available from a gold ring, but is further evidence that

> physiological effects do not require large doses of gold.

> Interestingly, it is similar to the amount of gold in prescriptions

> for neurological and other disorders by Cayce in the early-20th

> century (Cayce, 1993).

>

>

> The Modern Use of Colloidal Gold as a Nervine in Alternative

Medicine

>

> Although gold is not in use as a nervine at present in mainstream

> medicine, its use has recently been explored in alternative

medicine.

> Instead of the modern gold-containing drugs, or the gold chloride

used

> historically, colloidal gold has become popular. Colloidal gold is

> very fine particles of metallic gold (from 2 nm to 150 nm),

suspended

> in water. As discussed earlier in the historical section, colloidal

> gold may have been the first form used as a nervine, as far back as

> the ancient Chinese and Indian alchemists (Mahdihassan, 1985).

> According to Abraham (1996) it is not toxic, but little is known

about

> its physiological effects. In mainstream medicine, colloidal gold is

> generally thought to be biologically inert, and is used in electron

> microscopy studies for that reason. By attaching it to

macromolecules

> such as antibodies, these molecules can be tracked to the locations

> where they are active without affecting their functions (Polak &

> Varndell, 1984) note, " Fortunately, upon adsorption, full biological

> activity of the macromolecules is preserved. " Yet Abraham reports

that

> colloidal gold can have significant biological effects.

>

> Abraham and Himmel (1997) used colloidal gold to treat rheumatoid

> arthritis. They studied 10 severe cases, orally administering 30 mg

of

> colloidal gold per day. There was no clinical evidence or laboratory

> evidence of toxicity in any of the patients. The effects of the gold

> on the tenderness and swelling of joints were rapid and dramatic.

> Evaluated individually, nine of the 10 patients improved markedly

> after 24 weeks of colloidal gold.

>

> Abraham, McReynolds, and Dill (1998) explored the potential of

> colloidal gold as a nervine. Encouraged by pilot work suggesting

> improved cognition and well-being (Abraham, 1996), they conducted a

> study to see if gold could improve cognitive functioning. They

tested

> cognitive ability using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WAIS-R)

> before and after four weeks on colloidal gold at 30 mg/day. After

four

> weeks on colloidal gold, there was a 20% increase in IQ scores. The

> effect of the colloidal gold persisted in three subjects after one

to

> two months off gold, whereas in two subjects who took the test three

> months after stopping the gold, IQ scores were down to baseline

> levels. While a study of this small size is very preliminary, it is

> encouraging evidence of the potential of gold as a nervine, and as a

> demonstration of a non-toxic preparation.

>

>

> Directions for Future Research

>

> Future research could focus on two aspects of gold: exploring the

> effects of gold supplementation on neurological conditions, and

> establishing whether naturally occurring gold is an essential trace

> element.

>

> Two approaches might be taken in exploring the effects of gold

> supplementation. The first consists of attending to the side effects

> of gold medications in cases where there is co-morbidity of

rheumatoid

> arthritis and a neurological, psychiatric, or glandular disorder.

For

> example, one could ask, do patients with epilepsy, depression, or

> adrenal insufficiency who may be receiving gold for arthritis show

any

> improvement in neurological/glandular symptoms? Although

neurological

> adverse effects are rare, beneficial side effects might be found.

>

> The second approach is to administer gold with the intention of

> affecting a neurological or glandular condition. This is more

> challenging, since little is known about effective or toxic doses.

The

> bioavailability of different gold compounds is an important

> consideration in exploring the effects of gold supplementation.

There

> are substantial differences in the efficacy and side effects of the

> organic gold salts used for rheumatoid arthritis, and individual

> idiosyncrasies in response. As noted previously, it has been

difficult

> to establish a dose-response relationship for gold (Speight &

Holford,

> 1997). Gold chloride, a favorite in the 19th century, is now used

> primarily as a test for allergic skin reactions, not internally, so

> nothing is known about its metabolism. And colloidal gold, as noted

> above, should have very little physiological interaction at all,

> although Abraham and Himmel (1997) present evidence to the contrary.

> An advantage to using colloidal gold is that is has no known adverse

> effects. Animal studies with gold chloride as well as the current

gold

> medications might also be productive.

>

> Establishing gold as an essential trace element is another

challenging

> task. The few studies cited here are encouraging. A systematic

> exploration of the concentrations of gold in cerebrospinal fluid,

> blood, and neurological and glandular tissue could be performed. The

> results would be interesting in neurological disorders and tumors

> (e.g., El-Yazigi et al., 1984), glandular disorders (e.g., Skandhan

&

> Abraham, 1984) and developing infants (e.g., Kauf et al., 1984). But

> much further research will be needed to confirm these observations

and

> determine gold's biological role. There are thousands of studies on

> such elements as chromium and boron, which have only recently been

> suggested as essential nutrients (Nielsen, 1990). It takes on the

> average about 30-40 years for the general acceptance and application

> of the discovery of a new essential trace element (Mertz, 1998).

> Studies in both animals and humans will need to address specific

> physiological roles, effects from deficiencies, and interactions

with

> metabolic stressors.

>

> This research has the potential for re-establishing gold as a

> significant therapeutic agent in a much wider range of disorders

than

> those for which it is currently used. And it could help in sorting

out

> valid from invalid claims of benefits from supplementation.

>

>

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