Uptake of gold by collagen in gold therapy.

Gold in the form of thio-complexes has been successfully used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for nearly 40 years (Lande, 1927; Pick, 1927), but the mode of action of gold compounds on the diseased connective tissue has yet to be elucidated. In our experiments we have tried to demonstrate the direct binding of gold by collagen because it may be assumed that this type of reaction is similar to that occurring with other heavy metals as described by other authors (Gustavson, 1956). As far as the tanning mechanism of gold therapy is concerned, the degree of intra-vital and extravital staining has to be taken into account at the same time.