In vivo liberation of gold ions from gold implants: Autometallographic tracing of gold in cells adjacent to metallic goldObjective: “evaluate whether gold ions are released from gold implants” Procedure: “Pieces of pure gold were placed in the connective tissue of skin, bone and brains of anaesthetised” adult rats. Twenty-seven rats had compact threads 1.25 mm long, 0.5 mm thick, weighing 5.5 mg, cut from a 24-carat gold thread implanted in their body, while another 10 rats had coiled-up gold grids (for a larger gold surface) with a diameter of 3.0 mm and weighing 0.5 mg implanted in them. “Ten days to several months later the animals were anaesthetised and killed. Tissue blocks containing the gold pieces were cut, and the sections were silver-enhanced by autometallography” (AMG), whereby silver was attached to (invisible) traces of gold, making them readily visible. Thin sections were cut and analysed in a light microscope, likewise blocks of tissue were analysed using proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE). Results: “It was found that gold ions are released from the implanted gold and diffuse out into the surrounding tissue. The gold-containing cells in connective tissues were macrophages, mast cells and fibroblasts. In the brain, gold accumulated in astrocytes and neurons. Proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy analysis of the tissue surrounding gold implants confirmed that gold ions are liberated.” “Already after 14 days the first traces of AMG-enhanced gold clusters could be observed in macrophages and mast cells, and after 1–2 months an increasing amount of loaded cells including fibroblasts were seen.” Cells closer to the gold implants were more loaded than cells farther away, and macrophages and mast cells were more heavily stained than fibroblasts. Fibroblasts became loaded only after longer periods of time, approximately 2 months in the case of rod-shaped gold threads, but faster with coiled-up gold grid implants. The longer the implant had been in the tissue, the more stained the cells were and the broader the rim of gold-imbibed tissue. “The most heavily loaded cells, whether macrophages or mast cells, showed signs of degeneration.” The accidental presence of macrophages and mast cells free of gold close to an implant shows that these cells are replenished over time. Conclusion by Ackermann Team: In his gold study, Prof. Gorm Danscher clearly proves that gold ions are released from gold implants and “nest”, as it were, in the surrounding cells such as macrophages, mast cells and fibroblasts. There they reduce inflammatory reactions by lowering the activity of macrophages, among other things. So, in contrast to former assumptions, gold does not behave inertly or neutrally. The present data provides a rational scientific explanation of the postulated therapeutic effect of gold implants.
|