Rheumatoid arthritis, gold therapy, contact allergy and blood cytokines.
Objective To study the clinical and biochemical effects of a low starting dose for gold therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients with a contact allergy to gold. Methods Serum cytokines were assayed before and 24 h after the first injection of gold sodium thiomalate (GSTM). Results Contact allergy to gold was found in 4 of 19 patients. Compared to gold-negative patients (starting dose: 10 mg GST
