New Arthritis Treatment May Be Good As Gold

Posting Date: 06/21/2002

Original Posting: 12/24/1999

INTRODUCTION

Can wearing jewelry affect your immune system? Once upon a time, copper bracelets were all the rage to treat arthritis. And while that cure didn't quite pan out, new research finds a more precious metal may be of help.

DEAN EDELL, M.D.

"Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but if you've got arthritis, gold may come in handy, too. Sounds like an old wives' tale, but British doctors say gold rings may make a difference in rhematoid arthritis.

text continues below

"Now gold chemically - the same gold used in rings like this - is already used to treat arthritis. It's a standard pharmaceutical drug. But in most cases, it's injected directly into your body as gold salt or taken in tablet form. You check your prescription if you have arthritis, you may see a drug name beginning with 'au.' If it does, you're probably taking a gold derivative.

"Now, we're not sure why it works internally, but this is the first real study looking at external exposure.

"Doctors x-rayed the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and found the fingers wearing gold rings had less arthritic erosion. In fact, the fingers with gold rings had up to three times less joint erosion in the knuckles nearest the ring compared to other joints in the same hand.

"Why this occurs - unclear. Does the ring squeeze the finger, keeping inflammation down and reducing swelling? Or is it possible enough gold over a lifetime works it's way directly through the skin and into the fluids around the joint? Nobody knows. So if you've got arthritis, does this mean you should start wearing jewelry on every finger? Not yet. But if you already do - it can't hurt you."

END NOTE

Researchers found that even knuckles in other fingers adjacent to gold seemed to show a mild reduction compared in arthritis. All of which makes for an intriguing new avenue for investigation.

Source: Annals Rheum Dis 56:497-99