Researchers have revealed that nanoparticles of gold, attached to natural anti-inflammatory agents, work well on inflammation and can also promote muscle regeneration.
a man with knee pain
Scientists now believe that we can use gold to help treat muscle injuries.
Muscle injuries can take a while to recover from. This is because inflammation that occurs soon after an injury can hang on for some time.
That inflammation might also be very easy to re-aggravate.
However, there may be some good news on the horizon for those with muscle strains or tears.
Scientists have now designed a way to combine a natural anti-inflammatory agent with tiny bits of gold.
They recently published the new findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Reducing inflammation
It has been known for some time that injections of an anti-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin 4 (IL-4) into an injured muscle can help that muscle recover faster.
There is a caveat, however; the substance breaks down quickly and requires multiple applications that can result in unwelcome side effects. The solution to this problem might (literally) be golden.