The influence of chrysotherapy on serum protein and immunoglobulin levels, rheumatoid factor, and antiepithelial antibody titers.

Serum protein and immunoglobulin concentrations, rheumatoid factor (RF) titers, and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) from 18 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were being treated with gold sodium thiomalate (Myochrysine) and monitored clinically were measured serially. Serum antiepithelial antibody (AEA) titers from 10 patients with pemphigus who were similarly treated were measured at frequent intervals. Statistically significant reductions of alpha2, gamma, and total globulins, IgG, IgA, and IgM, ESR, and RF, and AEA titers were found after 3 to 6 months of gold treatment. Serum albumin levels rose significantly, but alpha1, beta-globulin, and total protein did not change. A temporal relationship between the alteration of these serological tests and the clinical response to treatment was noted, but the magnitude of protein change did not correlate with the degree of clinical improvement within a given patient. These findings indicate that gold treatment influences serum protein and antibody concentrations in two diseases having diverse target organs and different etiologies. The question of whether gold compounds exert an immunosuppressive action, or whether the serologic changes are a secondary phenomenon reflecting amelioration of disease activity, is unresolved.