| Abstrakt: |
Parenteral gold, which has been shown to be an effective therapeutic agent in rheumatoid arthritis, was found to significantly suppress development of both the primary and secondary lesions of adjuvant-induced polyarthritis in the rat. This prophylactic effect as well as serum gold levels were dose-related. However, the therapeutic effect of gold sodium thiomalate (GST) was much less pronounced when administered to rats with established disease. The progression of both primary and secondary lesions associated with adjuvant arthritis was retarded during the first week of treatment only with the highest doses of GST (10.0 and 20.0 mg/kg). During the ensuing two weeks of daily drug administration however, the disease in these rats progressed at a rate similar to the arthritic control animals. X-rays taken of at least two animals from each group at the end of these experiments revealed anatomical findings that closely paralleled observations of hind paw volumes. In addition, the remaining animals in each group were sacrificed by decapitation and the following physiologic and biochemical parameters measured: body weight gain, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum albumin/globulin ratios and plasma activities of lactic dehydrogenase, β-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase and lysozyme. All of these parameters were significantly altered in the arthritic control animals. However, neither prophylactic nor therapeutic treatment with GST reversed any of these manifestations of the disease. The results will be discussed in relation to our findings with clinically effective steroidal (hydrocortisone) and nonsteroidal (aspirin and indomethacin) antiarthritic agents on adjuvant-induced polyarthritis in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
