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Pro-chelation findings doomed further chelation research
September 19th, 2008, 8:24 am · 9 Comments · posted by Sam Miller, The Orange County Register
It’s interesting to note that the rat study findings cited as a reason to cancel the National Institute of Mental Health’s chelation research were not actually anti-chelation. In fact, the findings strongly support chelation for treating heavy metal toxicity.
So how did a study that confirms the effectiveness of chelation end up dooming further chelation research? 
Because it raised safety concerns about treating anyone without metals, according to the study’s lead author, Barbara Strupp.
And, according to the NIMH, that includes nearly all children with autism.
“Our data are fairly non-controversial,” Strupp, a professor at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, told me. “The study was designed originally to determine whether succimer was effective in lessening the cognitive dysfunction produced by early lead exposure. Amongst the important findings of that study was that succimer did help significantly in that respect.
“The group that received succimer in the absence of lead was included to learn more about the safety of the drug. It turned out, after the fact, to be an extremely important group, with respect to the current interest in using succimer in cases other than lead exposure (e.g., in the treatment of autistic children). In these animals (without elevated lead levels), a three week course of succimer treatment produced lasting cognitive deficits – deficits that lasted long after the treatment period (as long as 8 months after the treatment ended).”
She said the nature of the dysfunction caused by lead-free chelation was different than that of lead exposure, but it was similar in magnitude. Rats who were given the chelating agent in the absence of lead had shorter attention spans, and took longer to learn certain tasks.
I asked her if parents reading her study would not, in fact, find support for the decision to chelate a child with autism. After all, parents who choose to chelate typically have lab results that they believe show high mercury levels.
“If the child really does have elevated levels of heavy metals I would agree,” she says. “That would be a reasonable course of action, not because heavy metal exposure causes autism — I don’t know of any evidence to support that claim—but there surely are adverse effects of heavy metal exposure. It would make sense to try to speed the removal of these metals from the body and chelating agents have been demonstrated to be useful in this regard. And our study (the one in question) did show that chelation therapy significantly reduced the lasting cognitive deficits produced by early lead exposure.
“But if the child does not have elevated levels of heavy metals, chelation therapy might be detrimental, based on the results of our study. That is a possibility parents should consider. ”
She says parents should realize there are lots of explanations for autistic tendencies other than heavy metals, and parents should consider the likelihood that it is not metal causing these tendencies.
“Our data suggest that parents of an autistic child who are considering administering chelating agents should consider not only the possibility that these drugs may not be effective, but that they may actually cause lasting adverse affects.”
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Thank you so much for reporting this. My only question is how do these people sleep at night?
“there surely are adverse effects of heavy metal exposure” That’s a mouthful!!!
Is NIMH aware of how much mercury was in vaccines in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I’m stunned at their lack of concern for the health of America’s children. wow . just wow. Sad
I think it is safe to say that NIMH knows quite well the levels of mercury exposure due to vaccines in the 1990’s.
At the same time, they know what real mercury intoxication looks like. The symptoms are not like autism. This was made quite clear in the testimony given at the Omnibus where an expert on mercury exposure *and* also an expert on autism. She made it clear that they are not similar.
What was also made very clear at the Omnibus is that when real tests are used, children with autism are negative for mercury intoxication.
So, the experiment was to apply chelating agents to the most vulnerable citizens of our country who don’t have mercury intoxication. This, when research indicates that the chelation might be harmful to them.
Yes, they pulled the plug on that experiment. With very good reason.
Well, if you buy into the idea that mercury does not deposit into tissues, then this all makes perfect sense, since the standard test for mercury is a blood test and it is well known that Ethylmercury leaves the blood rapidly. Of course, the Burbacher study might be a little disconcerting though, since it says where the mercury actually goes. A blood test is not going to find it.
This completely discounts the fact that when chelation is used to treat children it is under a doctor’s close supervision. Essential nutrients are supplemented daily, ensuring that the process is safe and doesn’t inadvertently strip the “good” from the body while it’s getting rid of the “bad”. I sincerely doubt they gave their non-toxic rats the requisite mineral and vitamin supplementation during the study. And what is that chelating agent they used, anyway? Standard autism protocol uses DMPS or EDTA. Why weren’t they testing those? Oh, right, it’s because they are too AFRAID of what they might find. So instead they are testing a bunch of existing patented medications like Ritalin that mask symptoms and have bad side effects. Thanks PHarma! How dumb do they think we are?So in
And as for “real tests” being used to determine toxic load, the urinary porphyrin test is what should be used, not blood tests which don’t measure total body burden. If the metals have lodged in the brain or bone, as indicated by Burbacher et al in their studies, then a blood test won’t find it.
This article seems to imply that autistic children are being administered chelation without prior testing to evaluate whether or not they have heavy metals poisoning.
I know 3 children who have undergone chelation. In each case their doctor tested them for heavy metal poisoning and they all had elevated levels. In my experience DAN! doctors are not administering chelation arbitrarily. They are in fact confirming, through labs, that they need chelation.
Pamela,
It’s not something I’m implying, but that the government is implying. That’s what the article is about: That the NIMH made its decision not because it thinks chelation is bad, but because it doesn’t believe these kids have mercury in them. And, as I wrote in a previous post, they think some are relying on bad lab results to get parents to pursue this treatment. That, more than chelation, is the heart of the disagreement.
How does a toxin “embed” itself into a cell?
If the standard labs are widely known to miss obvious indicators of toxic accumulation of a certain substance, why haven’t they been changed?
What aspect of biological methylation is impaired in “most” autistic individuals? What is “most” and how was this determined?
I have to disagree with Sullivan. I have damage (mercury poisoning) from a flu vaccine and many of my symptoms are autistic like. I startle very easily, my children comment on it. I toe walk due to damage to my peroneal nerve. I have trouble concentrating, following a book or long article. I have trouble with oral processing. if you change subjects while talking, I cannot follow your thought process. I have very little short term memory. All things that found in autistic kids. The only difference is that as an adult I am able to express what I feel and the changes I have gone thru, young children cannot.
I started chelation in March, basically I was willing to try anything. Well it worked, many of my brain issues have cleared up. Right now I am able to process what I hear and it is overwhelming. The people sitting 2 tables away are as loud to me as the person sitting in front of me. I cannot filter out background noises. Sound familiar, like autism.
I went thru the urine analysis to test my metal levels and they are high.
why not only test on children who have high metal levels to see what improvement happens.