Posted on 08/24/2005 3:09:44 PM PDT by Born Conservative
A 5-year-old Monroeville boy died this week during a medical treatment that's being touted by some as a cure for autism.
The autistic boy died while receiving chelation -- an intravenous injection of a synthetic amino acid known as EDTA, for ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the practice only to treat heavy metal (such as lead) poisoning. The treatment is becoming increasingly popular, though still controversial, for autism.
Police are investigating the boy's death, which occurred Tuesday morning in the office of Dr. Roy Kerry in Portersville.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Well, just at the moment, I deal with the OTHER sort.
So I AM bitter, but I hear what you are saying.
Yes.
Good thoughts for you and your little girl, BTW!
It's done at all sorts of private clinics.
The problem is that we don't even know if it was a medical professional doing the chelation. And even if it was, they obviously are taking chances by performing this, since it is an unproven therapy for an unproven cause to autism (mercury).
He's going to lose not only his license, but his freedom for the next 25 years.
I'm not discounting that you deal with the other; there's still a lot of ignorance out there. My point is that the cause of autism has never been decided on, many consider the mercury theory to be bogus, and thus, chelation to bind mercury to treat autism is quackary.
I agree they were taking foolish chances if not using medical people. But the treatment itself, while controversial and maybe useless for autism, is not really dangerous if administered correctly.
Sorry but chelation is absolute fraud. Not to mention lethal for that autistic boy. The docs performing should have their licences removed.
Well now that you put it that way, I'm convinced you pretty know everything. Congratulations.
Not really dangerous unless administered by a quack professional that's not monitoring labs, or the child develops a fatal arrhythmia (not likely, but still possible). I've administered EDTA numerous times in the past (as well as BAL in oil-OUCH),and never saw any problems, but the children were being monitored daily with lab work.
We absolutely agree.
It's also used as a buffer for acid/base titrations, if I recall my quantitative analysis.
Sounds like my aunt and uncle. They left no stone unturned trying to help my cousin, so I guess that makes them notorious. A parent will move heaven and earth to help their child.
Sorry if i seem prickley.
I'm just dealing with a lot of that sort of thing.
School's about to start, so I am more sensitive to it than usual.
Desparation is the mother of exploitation.
No problem; I understand.
My aunt and uncle came out to visit about 20 years ago. Jamie was a teenager at the time, and it was already difficult to control him. I remember we went to Marineland(used to be a smaller version of Sea World), and the stares we got were incredibly rude.
Eventually he had to be placed in a board and care facility. No one knows how he ended up autistic. He was normal when he was born, but suffered a high fever when he was 2, and after that he became autistic. I've heard speculation about vaccines, but nothing solid.
You both have my sympathy.
That's what I was recalling. Thanks.
Stoichiometry, EDTA, Phenolphthalein, micro-gram scales. That's been a while.
EDTA is in a lot of stuff.
Hello, Spotted Owl~
The "magic' age for autism seems to be right around age 2: that's when it seems to become apparent.
My daughter has just been re-diagnosed with Asperger's, and high-functioning at that.
And yeah, the public can be a real bear.
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