chemistry

Gold-containing drugs

Gold-containing drugs is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gold-containing drugs rather than just read about it. In short: Gold-containing drugs are pharmaceuticals that contain gold. Sometimes these species are referred to as "gold salts". "Chrysotherapy" and "aurotherapy" are the applications of gold compounds to medicine.

Key takeaways

Gold-containing drugs belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gold-containing drugs to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gold-containing drugs from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gold-containing drugs are pharmaceuticals that contain gold. Sometimes these species are referred to as "gold salts". "Chrysotherapy" and "aurotherapy" are the applications of gold compounds to medicine. Research on the medicinal effects of gold began in 1935, primarily to reduce inflammation and to slow disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The use of gold compounds has decreased since the 1980s because of numerous side effects and monitoring requirements, limited efficacy, and very slow onset of action. Most chemical compounds of gold, including some of the drugs discussed below, are not salts, but are examples of metal thiolate complexes. In the modern period research has increased on gold nanoparticles which has applications in diagnostics, drug delivery and various therapies.

Use in rheumatoid arthritis Investigation of medical applications of gold began at the end of the 19th century, when gold cyanide demonstrated efficacy in treating Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.

Indications The use of injected gold compound is indicated for rheumatoid arthritis. Its uses have diminished with the advent of newer compounds such as methotrexate and because of numerous side effects. The efficacy of orally administered gold is more limited than injecting the gold compounds.

Mechanism in arthritis The mechanism by which gold drugs affect arthritis is unknown.

Administration Gold-containing drugs for rheumatoid arthritis are administered by intramuscular injection but can also be administered orally (although the efficacy is low). Regular urine tests to check for protein, indicating kidney damage, and blood tests are required.

Efficacy A 1997 review (Suarez-Almazor ME, et al) reports that treatment with intramuscular gold (parenteral gold) reduces disease activity and joint inflammation. Gold-containing drugs taken by mouth are less effective than by injection. Three to six months are often required before gold treatment noticeably improves symptoms.

Side effects

Chrysiasis A noticeable side-effect of gold-based therapy is skin discoloration, in shades of mauve to a purplish dark grey when exposed to sunlight. Skin discoloration occurs when gold salts are taken on a regular basis over a long period of time. Excessive intake of gold salts while undergoing chrysotherapy results – through complex redox processes – in the saturation by relatively stable gold compounds of skin tissue and organs (as well as teeth and ocular tissue in extreme cases) in a condition known as chrysiasis. This condition is similar to argyria, which is caused by exposure to silver salts and colloidal silver. Chrysiasis can ultimately lead to acute kidney injury (such as tubular necrosis, nephrosis, glomerulitis), severe heart conditions, and hematologic complications (leukopenia, anemia). While some effects can be healed with moderate success, the skin discoloration is considered permanent.

Other side effects Other side effects of gold-containing drugs include kidney damage, itching rash, and ulcerations of the mouth, tongue, and pharynx. Approximately 35% of patients discontinue the use of gold salts because of these side effects. Kidney function must be monitored continuously while taking gold compounds.

Types Disodium aurothiomalate Sodium aurothiosulfate (Gold sodium thiosulfate) Sodium aurothiomalate (Gold sodium thiomalate) (UK) Auranofin (UK & US) Aurothioglucose (Gold thioglucose) (US) Aurotioprol

References

External links "Gold salts for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis". BCHealthGuide.org "Gold salts information". DiseasesDatabase.com "HMS researchers find how gold fights arthritis: Sheds light on how medicinal metal function against rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases." Harvard University Gazette (2006) "Aurothioglucose is a gold salt used in treating inflammatory arthritis". MedicineNet.com "About gold treatment: What is it? Gold treatment includes different forms of gold salts used to treat arthritis." Washington.edu University of Washington (December 30, 2004)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gold-containing drugs

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gold-containing drugs claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gold-containing drugs before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gold-containing drugs ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gold-containing drugs

In research: Gold-containing drugs appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gold-containing drugs in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gold-containing drugs is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coordination complexes, Gold-based antirheumatic drugs, Gold compounds, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gold-containing drugs outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gold-containing drugs in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gold-containing drugs means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gold-containing drugs out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gold-containing drugs in simple terms?

Why does Gold-containing drugs matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gold-containing drugs?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gold-containing drugs.