Hi John
You follow Gold. Is it real gold, they are using in this study,and if study pans out, what will it do for gold usage? Like my play on words?
newswire.ca
Crazy about gold: Canadian study sparks widespread interest in arthritis therapies
TORONTO, Dec. 3 /CNW/ - Klondike fever has broken out over the new
application of an old arthritis remedy.
With a fervor reminiscent of Yukon prospectors in the 1890s, Canadians
with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are now flocking to The Arthritis Society's
clinical trials of gold therapy.
A 12-month study of a gold and methotrexate combination therapy will be
launched this month with about 200 people in 15 communities across Canada.
It's hoped this combination of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
will vastly improve the quality of life for people with RA.
''I've never seen anything like it,'' said Denis Morrice, The Arthritis
Society's president and CEO. ''Our telephone lines are buzzing with what can
only be described as a contemporary strain of Klondike fever.''
Gold compounds were first recruited in the fight against arthritis in
1935, although they were used to treat other diseases, such as tuberculosis,
as early as 1890.
No one is sure how it works, but more than 60 years of RA research shows
no other DMARD works as well as gold.
Usually mixed with an oil or water based solution, gold compounds are the
only medications capable of inducing remission. Gold produces improvements in
60 per cent of people with RA.
The popularity of gold, however, faded through the years, as newer,
faster-acting pharmaceutical products like methotrexate emerged.
''We're studying people who have bad RA for less than three years, and
who are on methotrexate, with hopes that by adding gold it will put them into
remission,'' said Dr. Vivian Bykerk, a participating rheumatologist at Credit
Valley Hospital, in Mississauga, Ontario.
''It's a combination therapy I've used before,'' added Dr. Bykerk. ''It
has great promise and we'd like to have the scientific evidence that it works.
''It's not a cure and it doesn't mean that people with RA will be able to
put away all their other medications,'' she said, ''but it is an opportunity
to control the disease much more effectively, in the early stages, to prevent
joint damage.''
In fact, recent long-term clinical trials involving more than 1,400
people in Vancouver illustrate gold's ''repeated effectiveness'' in people
with RA, according to Dr. Alice Klinkhoff. Dr. Klinkhoff and Dr. John Esdaile,
both of British Columbia, are spearheading investigation of the combination
therapy.
''It's nice to be in on this research with all the country's leading
arthritis researchers,'' said Dr. Catherine Alderdice, another participating
rheumatologist.
''This way, the data will have a far greater statistical significance,''
added Dr. Alderdice, whose research is conducted with the Arthritis Centre
team at St. Clare Mercy Hospital, in St. John's, Newfoundland. ''We will get a
more definitive answer on whether the combination therapy works better than
either drug on its own. The information we have now is anecdotal.''
Methotrexate was first used to suppress the immune system in cancer
chemotherapy. Canadian clinical trials in the 1980s established safe and
effective doses for RA.
Methotrexate slows down the biological process that is a driving force
behind persistent inflammation. In Canada, methotrexate has emerged as the
preferred DMARD for RA, largely because it acts fast and is well tolerated.
''There's a lot of validity in combination therapies,'' said Barbara
Brunton, of Toronto. ''It's just a matter of finding the right one that suits
an individual.
''With the severity of my arthritis, I would try just about anything to
get relief,'' added Brunton, who uses a combination of methotrexate and
hydroxycholoroquine to manage her RA, lupus and osteoarthritis symptoms.
RA affects one-in-100 Canadians of all ages, from toddlers to senior
citizens, causing inflammation in the lining of the joints and other internal
organs. It affects women three times more often than men.
The debilitating disease affects virtually all joints in the body,
seriously damaging cartilage, bone, tendons and ligaments. There is no cure
for RA, although symptoms of the chronic disease can be controlled with
medical and physical therapies.
The Arthritis Society is Canada's only not-for-profit charity dedicated
solely to funding and promoting arthritis research and care. Since its
inception in 1948, The Society has contributed more than $100 million toward
arthritis research, with the annual research budget reaching $7 million in
1998. The Society also contributes $425,000 a year to support Arthritis
Centres for research at 16 medical schools in each province.
Thanks in part to The Society's career development program, there are now
283 rheumatologists in Canada. Fifty years ago, there were only four.
Arthritis Society Gold and methotrexate Study
Participating Centres Centre Physicians
--------------------- -----------------
Methods Centre Dr. Alice V. Klinkoff
Mary Pack Arthritis Centre Dr. John M. Esdaile
Vancouver, BC (604) 871-4500
Edmonton, Alberta Dr. Avril Fitzgerald
(403) 454-2676
University of Alberta Dr. Walter Maksymowych
Edmonton, Alberta (403) 492-1964
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Dr. Wojciech Olszynski (306) 244-2277
University of Saskatchewan Dr. Paul M. Peloso (306) 966-8265
University of Manitoba Dr. Janice Canvin
Health Sciences Centre (204) 787-2208
University of Western Ontario Dr. Manfred Harth
London Health Science Centre (519) 663-3514
London, Ontario
St. Joseph's Hospital Dr. William Bensen
Hamilton, Ontario (905) 523-7705
Credit Valley Hospital Dr. Vivian Bykerk
Mississauga, Ontario (905) 828-7571
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Dr. Mary Bell
Toronto, Ontario (416) 480-4580
Mount Sinai Hospital Dr. Edward Keystone
Toronto, Ontario (416) 586-8645
University of Montreal Dr. Paul Haraoui
Notre-Dame Hospital (514) 281-6000 Ext. 8819
Maissoneuve Hospital Dr. Michel Zummer
Montreal, Quebec (514) 252-778-3580
St. Clare Mercy Hospital Dr. Catherine Alderdice
St. John's, Newfoundland (709) 778-3580
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For further information: The Arthritis Society at 1-800-321-1433 |
