Mechanism of Action
Unknown. In vitro experiments have shown that Au(I) can inhibit lymphocyte proliferation, lysosomal enzyme release, the release of reactive oxygen species from macrophages, and IL-1 production.
Gold salts can decrease the inflammation of the joint lining. This effect can prevent destruction of bone and cartilage. In former times gold salts were used as second-line drugs (used when the arthritis progressed in spite of antiinflammatory drugs). Nowadays such former "second-line" drugs are used from the beginning of therapy to inhibit joint erosion if possible.
Read more about this topic: Disodium Aurothiomalate
Famous quotes containing the words mechanism of, mechanism and/or action:
“Life is an offensive, directed against the repetitious mechanism of the Universe.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)
“When one of us dies of cancer, loses her mind, or commits suicide, we must not blame her for her inability to survive an ongoing political mechanism bent on the destruction of that human being. Sanity remains defined simply by the ability to cope with insane conditions.”
—Ana Castillo (b. 1953)
“Thought is the seed of action; but action is as much its second form as thought is its first.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)