Facts about Chelation

Sunday, July 23, 2006
Facts about Chelation
Current mood: excited

First, I want to explain exactly what chelation is:

(from the GenerationRescue.org site)

The most direct way to remove toxic metals from the body is through chelation. Chelation (key-LAY-shun) therapy is a simple process by which an agent is administered that binds to heavy metals and helps flush them from the body. Chelation is derived from the Latin "chele", or claw, as in to pinch the metal and hold it like the claws of a crab. Chelation can be given through a variety of forms (oral, transdermal, intravenous) and with a variety of chelating agents (DMPS, DMSA, EDTA, PCA-RX, NDF, Chlorella, Cilantro, Garlic, and ALA, to name some of the most common agents).

The three most widely used chelating agents are DMPS, DMSA, and EDTA. DMPS is the most effective chelator of mercury and was specifically designed for mercury removal. It has been around for more than 60 years and has been demonstrated in tens of thousands of cases to effectively remove mercury from the body. DMPS is sold over the counter in Germany, is approved by the European equivalent of the FDA (Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products), and is approved by the FDA in the United States for bulk compounding purposes. The transdermal form of DMPS (TD-DMPS), which was developed in the last 5 years, is in Generation Rescue's opinion the most gentle and effective means of chelation for autistic children. Learn more at: www.tddmps.com. Many parents have also had great success treating their children with DMSA, an FDA approved chelator of lead that also binds to mercury

1. Chelation therapy is effective.

The science of chelation has been around for more than a hundred years. Chelation therapy has been proven in hundreds of thousands of clinical examples to effectively remove toxic metals from people's bodies. According to the CDC, over 60,000 Americans used some form of chelation therapy in the past year. Many major health insurers have policies endorsing chelation therapy as the appropriate therapy to address heavy metal toxicity. (See the policies of: Aetna, Blue Cross, and CIGNA as three examples.) The package warning label of Thimerosal states that in the case of overexposure, chelation therapy should be used. Recently, the National Institutes of Health launched a chelation therapy trial for adult heart disease patients which you can read about here. Furthermore, at Arizona State University, a three-month trial of chelation therapy in autistic children is beginning soon.

2. Chelation therapy is safe.

The side effects of chelation, at the dosing levels used with children, appear to be both mild and manageable. Because chelating agents also bind to minerals (they too are metals), a possible side effect is mineral depletion. This is managed through mineral "repletion" by supplementing with extra minerals. A secondary potential side effect is kidney or liver stress induced by the pace of detoxification. This is addressed by temporarily adjusting the dosage. Most doctors treating autistic children run monthly or bi-monthly lab tests to monitor for these issues.

In the FDA's Federal Register addressing the approval of DMPS as a bulk compounding agent, they note, "DMPS has been used to treat heavy metal poisoning. At doses reported in the literature for this indication, DMPS appears to be relatively nontoxic, and serious adverse reactions associated with its use have not been commonly reported."

Now go to the next blog titled "and away we go"