Double‐blind evaluation of implants of gold wire at acupuncture points in the dog as a treatment for osteoarthritis induced by hip dysplasia

Abstract

Thirty-eight dogs with hip dysplasia were studied to evaluate the use of gold wire implants at acupuncture points around the hip joints. They were assigned at random into two groups of 19. In the treated group, gold wire was inserted through hypodermic needles at electrically found acupuncture points around both hips. In the control group, the areas were prepared in the same way but had only the skin pierced at sites which were not acupuncture points, with a needle of the same size as that used in the treated group. Over a period of six months the dogs were studied repeatedly by two veterinarians and by the dogs' owners who were unaware of the treatments the dogs had received; they assessed the dogs' locomotion, hip function and signs of pain. Radiographs were taken at the beginning and end of the study. Although the data collected from both groups by the veterinarians and the owners showed a significant improvement of locomotion and reduction in signs of pain (P=0.036 for the veterinary evaluation and locomotion and P=0.0001 and P=0.0034 for the owners' evaluation of locomotion and pain, respectively), there were no statistically significant differences between the treated and control groups (P=0.19 and P=0.41, P=0.24, respectively).

In vivo liberation of gold ions from gold implants. Autometallographic tracing of gold in cells adjacent to metallic gold

“…The acupuncture-deviated treatment of different illnesses with gold implants, in particular rheumatism-caused pain from the involved joint, has apart from a minor study by Hielm-Bjorkman et al (2001) on dogs to my knowledge not resulted in scientific publications until now. However, if the rationale behind the authorised treatment with chemically bound gold ions, for example GSTM and auronofin, performed at many hospitals around the world holds true (Vernon-Roberts 1979;Fleming et al 1996;Hostynek 1997), gold implants and gold-containing drugs 451 Fig.…”

“…In the early 1970s some US veterinarians started to treat dogs suffering from hip dysplasia with gold implants, and since then several veterinary surgeons and medical doctors have implemented the technique on their patients (Hielm-Bjorkman et al 2001).…”

Inflammatory Response to Therapeutic Gold Bead Implantation in Canine Hip Joint Osteoarthritis

“…Six unrelated dogs received for routine postmortem examination at the Department of Basic Sciences and Aquatic Medicine, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, were included as controls for the current study (dog Nos. [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Three control dogs (dog Nos.…”

“…This technique is derived from acupuncture and has been used in veterinary medicine for the past decade, largely as a treatment in canine hip dysplasia. 10 A recent double-blind, placebocontrolled clinical trial performed by Jaeger et al showed that the performance of dogs with hip joint osteoarthritis significantly improved after receiving gold bead implants. 13 Although it is widely accepted that gold may have an anti-inflammatory effect, it may cause hypersensitivity and tissue inflammation.…”

An exploratory study of gold wire implantation at acupoints to accelerate ulnar fracture healing in rats

“…Previous clinical studies support the long-term effects of gold implantation, although it is still controversial [5,[7][8][9][10]. Jaeger et al [10] reported that the pain-relieving effect of gold bead implantation in dogs with hip dysplasia continued throughout the 2-year follow-up period.…”