ACSH's Stimola never misses an opportunity to weigh in

[Guest guest]

http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.624/news_detail.asp

Here is url for article and article pasted below for ACSH take on the

tragic death in Pa. Don't want to inflame everyone but this industry

shil organization never misses an opportunity.

Especially illogical is the lead statement: " While the cause of death

will not be known until after an autopsy, the tragedy is a reminder

that doctors providing chelation therapy are acting irresponsibly and

in a manner inconsistent with their role as healthcare providers. They

may be putting children in harm's way, as well as giving false hope to

parents in emotional turmoil. "

I guess Aubrey Stimola has some inside knowledge on the truth of this

tragedy--or rather holds herself out as having some sort of

omniscience.

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August 26, 2005

Autistic Boy Dies After Chelation Therapy

By Aubrey Noelle Stimola

A five-year-old autistic boy died Tuesday after receiving chelation

treatment, a controversial therapy approved only for cases of acute

heavy metal poisoning -- but a treatment sought with increasing

frequency by parents who think it will help their autistic children.

While the cause of death will not be known until after an autopsy, the

tragedy is a reminder that doctors providing chelation therapy are

acting irresponsibly and in a manner inconsistent with their role as

healthcare providers. They may be putting children in harm's way, as

well as giving false hope to parents in emotional turmoil.

Many parents believe that their children's autism was caused by

exposure to thimerosal, an ethylmercury-based preservative that was

used in several pediatric vaccines until 2001 but is now present only

in trace amounts in tetanus and some influenza vaccines. In 1999, the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended the discontinuation of

thimerosal in routine pediatric vaccines upon realizing that many

children, as a result of changes to the pediatric vaccination schedule,

were receiving levels of mercury in excess of the Environmental

Protection Agency's (EPA's) recommended limit. Around the same time the

children were receiving increased amounts of thimerosal in their

vaccines, the number of autism diagnoses in the U.S. increased

substantially. Noticing the temporal correlation, some hypothesized

that autism and thimerosal were linked.

But in fact, a causal link between thimerosal and autism has never been

substantiated. This conclusion is currently supported by the majority

of research scientists, clinicians, and public health organizations

including the Centers for Disease Control, the Institute of Medicine,

and the FDA. Many of these experts view better diagnostic skills and

wider acceptance of a previously misunderstood disorder as the reasons

for the apparent increase in autism cases. (The FDA recommendation to

remove thimerosal was precautionary in nature -- not due to any

evidence of harm. The EPA's limits have wide safety margins and are

based on ethylmercury's more toxic cousin, methylmercury.)

But suspicions persist concerning the thimerosal hypothesis, as do

cries of government conspiracy and cover-up. And many parents of

autistic children who believe that mercury in vaccines is responsible

for their children's condition are willing to try anything in their

desperation, even unconventional and dangerous procedures such as heavy

metal chelation therapy.

These parents are guilty of nothing more than loving their children and

doing everything in their power to ease their children's distress.

Autism, even in less extreme cases, can be devastating both for the

sufferers and for their families.

The doctors offering chelation as an option to these desperate parents,

on the other hand, are guilty of far more.

Chelation, which is not FDA-approved for the treatment of autism, has

not been subjected to any rigorous studies showing its safety for

autistic children. It is typically used only in the most extreme cases

of heavy metal poisoning, confirmed by blood tests. Heavy metal

poisoning due to mercury or other heavy metals has not been shown to be

related to autism. The doctors who provide this risky therapy are

putting children in unnecessary danger. The death of Abubakar Tariq

Nadama, age five, may be a testament to that. Chelation has been

associated with serious complications ranging from severe kidney

damage, dangerously low blood pressure, fast heart rate, dangerously

low blood calcium levels, increased risk of bleeding or blood clots,

immune reactions, abnormal heart rhythms, allergic reactions, blood

sugar imbalances, convulsions, headache, fatigue, fever, nausea,

vomiting, gastrointestinal upset, excessive thirst, sweating, and low

white blood cell and platelet counts. Chelation is to be avoided if one

has liver, heart, or kidney disease. Some patients receiving treatment

have stopped breathing. Deaths have been reported, although it is not

clear if chelation was the direct cause.

Dr. , Director of the Autism Center at the Children's

Hospital of Pittsburgh, says that she doesn't see chelation " as benign,

and it's really very scary to me. " This same sentiment is felt by Dr.

McGrew of Vanderbilt University's TRIAD program (see her comment

within my own at the bottom of my earlier piece, " Kirby's 'Evidence of

Harm,' Evidently Stoking Fear " ).

One might ask if parents have been properly informed of such possible

adverse effects before having their children treated with chelation.

When parents are as understandably desperate -- given how poorly

understood autism's causes are -- and are willing to try whatever their

doctor advises, a physician's responsibility to inform them of risks is

even greater.

Aubrey Stimola is an assistant director of public health at the

American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org,

HealthFactsAndFears.com).