Free Republic

Critics not persuaded that metal-snaring treatment works. With millions of Americans regularly using complementary medicines, researchers usually applaud efforts to test and debunk folk treatments such as echinacea, a herbal supplement often deployed against the common cold. But what if a trial shows that an alternative therapy might work? That is the case for a study funded by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial hints that a fringe therapy intended to sop up metal ions in the blood might reduce participants’ risk of...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 02 - In 2005, two young children died of cardiac arrest after receiving treatment with edetate disodium (Na2EDTA) as a chelating agent to lower blood lead levels, according to an article in the March 3rd issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend Na2EDTA as a chelating agent in children because it induces hypocalcemia and possibly fatal tetany, note Dr. R. A. Beauchamp, from the Texas Department of State Health Services, and colleagues. They report that a 2-year-old...

The unorthodox practice of chelation No one knows for certain what causes autism, but one theory has ignited an intense debate Autism is a mysterious and devastating disorder that is believed to affect as many as 500,000 children in this country. No one knows for certain what causes autism, but one theory — chelation— has sparked controversy. Now, Jim Adams wants to put that theory to the test. In a desperate quest for answers, he is using his scientific know-how to test a controversial therapy called "chelation." And he has a special reason for taking on this mission — his...