Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Chelation Therapy For Autism Treatment Gets Latest "Official" Endorsement
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that Tom Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), supports testing the effectiveness of chelation therapy on children to see if it can be proved safe and effective. The autism blogosphere came to life, and advocates of chelation therapy were overjoyed. But as with all things concerning autism, alas, the story is far less simple than that.
The chelation study was first approved by NIMH in 2006. In February 2007, a study showed that giving chelation to rats who weren't suffering from heavy-metal poisoning caused permanent cognitive impairment. That sent NIMH running back to more risk-benefit analysis. It filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration to study chelation as an "investigational new drug" (an IND, in FDA-speak). And keep in mind that the dynamic of testing on rats involves differing variables than on human beings. The findings are not "definitive" at all.
The knowledge gleaned from the study will be limited, since only 120 children are to be enrolled: half will get chelating agent for 12 weeks and the other half, a placebo. The children's blood mercury levels and autism symptoms will be monitored along the way. That's too few subjects to get a clear sense of whether or not chelation works, though it's better than what we've got now.
Awaken Nutrition provides healthy chelation, detox and general nutrition supplements designed to bring balance and wellness to your life.
The chelation study was first approved by NIMH in 2006. In February 2007, a study showed that giving chelation to rats who weren't suffering from heavy-metal poisoning caused permanent cognitive impairment. That sent NIMH running back to more risk-benefit analysis. It filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration to study chelation as an "investigational new drug" (an IND, in FDA-speak). And keep in mind that the dynamic of testing on rats involves differing variables than on human beings. The findings are not "definitive" at all.
The knowledge gleaned from the study will be limited, since only 120 children are to be enrolled: half will get chelating agent for 12 weeks and the other half, a placebo. The children's blood mercury levels and autism symptoms will be monitored along the way. That's too few subjects to get a clear sense of whether or not chelation works, though it's better than what we've got now.
Awaken Nutrition provides healthy chelation, detox and general nutrition supplements designed to bring balance and wellness to your life.
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