Gold salts may help treat arthritis

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have found that gold salts may help treat arthritis, a study said.

Using stimulated mouse and human immune system cells to secrete HMGB1 -- a molecule which provokes inflammation, the key process underlying the development of rheumatoid arthritis -- the researchers found the gold blocked the release of HMGB1 from the nucleus.

Study leader Dr. David Pisetsky of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., said controlling the secretion of HMGB1 should lessen the amount available to provoke the body’s immune system, weakening the inflammatory response.

Pisetsky said physicians first used injections of gold salts in the early 1900s to ease the pain and swelling of arthritis, but the treatment took months to take effect and there were side effects. With a better understanding of HMBG1 it may be possible to develop better gold-like drugs to treat arthritis, Pisetsky said.

The study, scheduled to be published in the January issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, found gold inhibits the release of HMGB1 by interfering with the activity of two helper molecules that ease HMGB1’s release from the cell -- interferon beta and nitric oxide.