In the medical field, gold is used mainly to treat rheumatoid arthritis and liver, eye and ear diseases, as well as anergia (tiredness and depression). Gold belongs to a group of drugs used to slow down rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs are known as DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs), and can also help ease the pain and swelling in joints.

Gold may have been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis for more than 70 years, but scientists don't quite know why it works. Some think that it stops the immune system from attacking your joints, because although your immune system normally protects your body against infection, with rheumatoid arthritis, it also damages the lining of joints.