Caution Is Advised Before Undergoing Chelation Therapy
Tyson J Stevenson
Chelation therapy is the use of chelating agents to remove
heavy metal ions from the body. Chelation (pronounced Kee la
shun) therapy started during World War I when poison gas
(Lewisite) affected soldiers were treated with a chelating
agent Dimercapol also known as British Anti Lewisite (BAL). BAL
had severe and painful side effects but was the only known
antidote for the arsenic based poison gas at that time.
With the advancement in medicines many chelating agents were
developed in the US, USSR and England which do not have as
severe side effects as BAL. There are other chelating agents
which have been developed to nullify the effects of harmful
metallic ions. Some of them are:
BAL : British Anti Lewisite
EDTA : Dietheylene triamine pentaacetic acid
DMSA : Dimercaptosuccinic acid
DMPS : Dimercapto-propane sulfonate
ALA : Alpha lipoic acid
Ca Na2 –EDTA : Calcuium disodium versante
D-Penicillamine
Deferosamine
Deferoxamine
Chelation therapy is conventionally used for treatment of heavy
metal poisoning like mercury, arsenic, plutonium, lead and iron,
(as in thalassemia). It is only used in acute cases where the
poisoning is so high as to justify chelation therapy. The
chelating agents are treated orally or intravenously or
intramuscularly depending on the type of poisoning. Chelation
therapy is also used for treatment of atherosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries), autism caused by mercury by
alternative medicine practitioners but the efficacy of
chelation therapy is not proven for these ailments. Chelation
therapy involves undergoing 20 to 50 infusions depending on the
type of patient.
Chelating agents work by forming a water soluble compound with
the harmful metal ions in the blood. This water soluble
compound flows through the blood stream and is cleaned by
kidneys and the liver.
It has been claimed widely that Chelation therapy is
efficacious in treatment of people with fatty buildups of
plaque in their arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis is
the main cause of heart attack and stroke where in fatty
deposits in the arteries constrict the arteries. Calcium is a
constituent of this fatty deposit. Chelation therapists claim
that the chelating agents remove the calcium from the deposit
and thus the artery gets cleared. However the problem with this
theory is that the chelating agent cannot penetrate the cell
wall and get to the calcium deposit. Further the chelating
agent has more affinity for other ions than for calcium.
The proponents of chelation therapy like American College for
Advancement of Medicine ACAM (a private organization) and few
parent organizations have widely supported Chelation therapy.
One example of successful use of chelation therapy is of
Mr. Harold Mc Cluskey a nuclear worker who had been poisoned by
americium and was later treated successfully by chelation
therapy. Further high sulfur foods like onions, garlic,
seaweeds etc,. are being used as “chelating agents” due to
folklore. MSM and NAC have also been used as sulfur
supplements. However they are not chelating agents as the
double bond with the metal ion is not involved and these
compounds have mono thiols whereas chelating agents have
di-thiols.
The opponents of chelation therapy have pointed to the dangers
of chelation therapy like hypocalcaemia and mainstream medicine
has rejected the claims of chelation therapists. Caution is
advised before undergoing chelation therapy.
About The Author: Tyson J Stevenson writes on a wide variety of
health related subjects, always with valuable news & reviews.
Expect to see his name often. A related resource is
http://best-chelation-therapy.info
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