Newsweek Article Highlights Chelation Study
According to Chelation Therapy: Unproven Claims and Unsound Theories by Saul Green, Ph.D:
Chelation therapy, as discussed in this article, is a series of intravenous infusions containing disodium EDTA and various other substances. It is sometimes done by swallowing EDTA or other agents in pill form.
When my daughter was going through her autism assessment period back in the Fall of 2006, I mentioned it to a naturopathic physician (NMD) that owns a local health/beauty spa that I attend. I tend to look at things from a natural and holistic approach so it was only natural that I mention this to the NMD. She told me to come see her after I found out for sure because there was a chelation study being done at our local naturopathic college.
Although I respect the NMD, I never made that call. I did my own research on chelation and decided that it wasn’t a choice I wanted to make for my child. Since that time, I’ve learned of neurodiversity and as I’ve mentioned before I fall on that side of things. Of course I am a firm believer in to each their own and it is not my place to judge so I still hear/read about chelation on a regular basis.
One of my local parenting email groups had a message go out today about a Newsweek article that hit the online mag today: Fringe autism treatment could get federal study: US researchers want to study alternative treatment for autism; chelation called quackery.
The treatment removes heavy metals from the body and is based on the fringe theory that mercury in vaccines triggers autism — a theory never proved and rejected by mainstream science. Mercury hasn’t been in childhood vaccines since 2001, except for certain flu shots.
The article goes on to explain that Dr. Thomas Insel, the head of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), supports the proposed testing of chelation in children. The study, still in its proposal stages, is on hold while the safety issues are concerned.
Here is where *my* personal concern is - the safety of chelation. I’ll disregard the notions of curing vs. diversity as well as the efficacy of chelation, let’s look at the safety of it. Kristina Chew, the Autism Vox, is one of the best autism bloggers in my not so humble opinion. In November of 2007, Chew posted on a child’s death after a chelation procedure: Doctor Faces Trial in Death of Child After Chelation Treatment.
Chelation supporters will point to the doctor’s errors in the process as the cause as oppose to the actual chelation itself. To this I ask, how many times has a child died in a social skills group or during speech therapy? Both of these autism therapies have helped my children tremendously but at no inherent risk to my child.
Kevin Leitch of the UK-based blog Left Brain Right Brain wrote on the same topic today - check out his take on things: Chelation study to be ‘released’?
