Gold salts are ionic chemical compounds of gold. The term, "gold salts" is a misnomer, and is the term for the gold compounds used in medicine. "Chrysotherapy" and "aurotherapy" are the applications of gold compounds to medicine. Contemporary research on the effect of gold salts treatment began in 1935, primarily to reduce inflammation and to slow disease progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The use of gold compounds has decreased since the 1980s because of numerous side effects and monitoring requirements, limited efficacy, and very slow onset of action. Most chemical compounds of gold, including some of the drugs discussed below, are not salts, but are examples of metal thiolate complexes.