Contact allergy to gold as a model for clinical‐experimental research

Abstract

The high frequency of contact allergy to gold in patients with dermatitis was established after exhaustive skin testing, determining the right test agent, the best concentration, and repeated test readings. Metallic gold in contact with skin is slowly ionized, permitting absorption and haptenisation. Contact allergy to gold is statistically correlated to the presence of dental gold. But in many case reports it has also been attributed to wearing gold jewellery, albeit not statistically demonstrated. Epicutaneous testing with gold salts increases the blood gold level, and by intramuscular injection systemic contact dermatitis is provoked in an allergic individual. In coronary heart disease, gold-coated intravascular stents have been shown to be correlated to contact allergy and even to an increased risk of restenosis. Gold is far from inert.

Indications and outcomes for revision of gold weight implants in upper eyelid loading

“…Historically, gold has been considered inert but in a recent review Möller provides substantial evidence to refute this myth 24. Skin can develop a contact dermatitis, which arises as part of a type IV hypersensitivity reaction.…”

“…Three had removal of the gold weight and two had platinum chain substitutions. If gold allergy is suspected, patch testing with gold sodium thiosulphate can be a helpful indicator, although false negatives can occur 8 24…”

Contact Allergy to Gold in Patients with Oral Lichen Lesions

“…Contact allergy to gold occurs frequently (1,2), but its clinical relevance is unclear. The clinical features of intra-oral contact allergy related to gold exposure are not specific, although lichenoid reactions appear to be the most common manifestation of contact allergy in the oral mucosa (3).…”

Innate stimulatory capacity of high molecular weight transition metals Au (gold) and Hg (mercury)

“…This counts in particular for the low-molecular weight transition metals nickel, cobalt and palladium. Still, in dentistry also mercury and gold have obtained a poor reputation as frequent causes for oral allergic complaints (Moller, 2002(Moller, , 2010Roberts and Charlton, 2009;Evrard and Parent, 2010). The latter metals are located next to each other in the periodic table as high molecular weight transition elements.…”