[Cytogenetic investigations in patients receiving an intraarticular injection of gold-198 (author's transl)].

The chromosomes of lymphocyte cultures from the peripheral blood were investigated in 10 patients (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthrosis of the knee) before and at short-term intervals (1 day, 3 to 4 days, 14 to 18 days) after the injection of gold-198 (5 to 20 mC; usually 8 mC; average particle size 300 A) into the knee-joint. The number of structural chromosomal abberrations increased markedly in 4 of the 10 patients. On the first day after the gold injection the mean aberration rate was significantly higher than the control value (Chi2-5.18; df=1; P less than 0.05). Most of the observed aberrations were chromatid aberrations and this finding is discussed.