[Misplaced] Concerns of chelation therapy, autism

December 15, 2006

The recommendation used in this report makes absolutely no sense.

Chelating agents are used for children with diagnosed heavy metal

toxicity. Chelation should not be prescribed to treat autism. No

competent physician that I know has ever prescribed chelation for

" autism. " The assumptions of these Cornell University researchers –

that chelation is used to treat " autism " – are wrong ab initio. It

would appear they are trying to prove a point, one that is misplaced.

RJK

-011826-1996r

Concerns of chelation therapy, autism

ITHACA, N.Y., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Lead chelation therapy reduces lead

exposure problems but could create lasting effects for children treated

for autism, say New York researchers.

Cornell University researchers say their study in young rats has

implications for the treatment of autistic children, because when rats

with no lead in their systems were treated with the lead-removing

chemical, they showed declines in their learning and behavior that were

similar to the rats that were exposed to lead.

Chelating drugs, which bind to lead and other metals in the blood, are

increasingly being used for the treatment of autism in children.

The rats with moderate lead exposure benefited greatly from the lead

chelation medication succimer, and rats exposed to higher lead levels

showed benefits in the emotional domain; however, for the control group

with no lead exposure that were given succimer, " we found lasting

cognition and emotion-regulation (deficits) that were as pervasive and

large as rats with high lead exposure, " according to the study

published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

One possibility is that succimer, in the absence of lead, may disrupt

the balance of such essential minerals as zinc and iron.

" These findings raise concerns about the use of chelating agents in

treating autistic children, " said senior author Barbara Strupp.

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