Chelation Therapy is a medical procedure involving the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation Therapy has a long history in the use of clinical toxicology and is still used for some very specific medical treatments, although it is administered under careful medical supervision due to various inherent risks.
Chelation therapy should be given with caution because it has a number of possible side effects, including death. In response to the increasing use of chelation therapy as an alternative treatment and in circumstances where therapy should not be used in conventional medicine, various health organizations have confirmed that medical evidence does not support the effectiveness of chelation therapy for any purpose other than the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. Over-the-counter chelation products are not approved for sale in the United States.
Video Chelation therapy
Medical use
Chelation therapy is the preferred medical treatment for metal poisoning, including acute mercury, iron (including in the case of thalassemia), arsenic, lead, uranium, plutonium and other toxic metallic forms of poisoning. Chelating agents may be administered intravenously, intramuscularly, orally, depending on the agent and type of poisoning.
Chelating agents Chelating agents
There are various common chelating agents with different affinities for various metals, physical characteristics, and biological action mechanisms. For the most common forms of heavy metal poisoning - lead, arsenic, or mercury - a number of chelating agents are available. Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) has been recommended for the treatment of lead poisoning in children by poison control centers around the world. Other chelating agents, such as 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfonic acid (DMPS) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA), are used in conventional and alternative medicine. Some common chelating agents are ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 2,3-dimercaptopropanesulfonic acid (DMPS), and thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD). Calcium-disodium EDTA and DMSA are only approved for removal of lead by the Food and Drug Administration while DMPS and TTFD are not FDA approved. These drugs bind heavy metals in the body and prevent them from binding to other agents. They are then removed from the body. The chelating process also removes essential nutrients such as vitamins C and E, therefore this should be supplemented.
The German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) listed DMSA and DMPS as the two most useful and secure chelating agents available.
Maps Chelation therapy
Side effects
When used correctly in response to a hazard diagnosis of metallic toxicity, chelation therapy side effects include dehydration, low blood calcium, kidney damage, enzyme enhancement as will be detected in liver function tests, allergic reactions, and lower dietary element levels.. When given improperly, there is an added risk of hypocalcemia (low calcium levels), neurodevelopmental disorders, and death.
History
Chelation therapy can be traced back to the early 1930s, when Ferdinand Munz, a German chemist who worked for I.G. Farben, the first synthesized ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Munz is looking for a substitute for citric acid as a water softener. Chelation therapy itself started during World War II when chemists at the University of Oxford sought an antidote for lewisite, an arsenic-based chemical weapon. Chemists know that EDTA is very effective in treating lead poisoning.
After World War II, chelation therapy was used to treat workers who had painted US naval vessels with lead-based paint. In the 1950s, Norman Clarke, Sr. treated the workers at the battery factory for lead poisoning when he noticed that some of his patients had increased angina pectoris after chelation therapy. Clarke was then given chelation therapy for patients with angina pectoris and other occlusive vascular diseases and published his findings in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences in December 1956. He hypothesized that "EDTA can dissolve disease-causing plaques in the system coronary man. "In a series of 283 patients treated by Clarke et al. From 1956-1960, 87% showed improvement in their symptomatology. Other early medical researchers conducted similar observations on the role of EDTA in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (Bechtel, 1956, Bessman, 1957, Perry, 1961, Szekely, 1963, Wenig, 1958: and Wilder, 1962).
In 1973, a group of practicing doctors created the Medical Prevention Academy (now American College for Advancement in Medicine). The Academy trains and certifies doctors in the administration of safe chelation therapy. Academy members continue to use EDTA therapy for the treatment of vascular diseases and develop safer administrative protocols.
In 1960, BAL was modified to DMSA, dithiol was associated with far fewer side effects. DMSA is rapidly replacing BAL and EDTA as the main treatment for lead poisoning, arsenic and mercury in the United States. Esther DMSA has been developed that is reported to be more effective; for example, monoisoamyl ester (MiADMSA) is reported to be more effective than DMSA in clearing mercury and cadmium. Research in the former Soviet Union led to the introduction of DMPS, another dithiol, as a mercury chelating agent. The Soviets also introduced ALA, which was transformed by the body into dihydrolipoic acid dithiol, solvent agent of mercury and arsenic. DMPS has an experimental status in the United States, whereas ALA is a common nutritional supplement.
Since the 1970s, iron chelation therapy has been used as an alternative to the process of regular blood loss to treat iron overload in people with hemochromatosis. Other chelating agents have been found. They all work by making some chemical bonds with metal ions, thus making them much less chemically reactive. The resulting complex is soluble in water, allowing it to enter the bloodstream and expelled harmlessly.
Calcium-disodium EDTA chelation has been studied by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to treat coronary disease. In 1998, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pursued the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), an organization promoting "complementary, alternative and integrative medicine" on claims made about the treatment of atherosclerosis in advertising for EDTA chelation therapy. The FTC concluded that there was a lack of scientific study to support this claim and that the statement by ACAM was wrong. In 1999, ACAM agreed to stop serving chelation therapy as effective in treating heart disease, avoiding legal process. In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned companies selling over-the-counter (OTC) chelation products and stated that "the product is a drug and a device that is not approved and it is a violation of federal law to make a claim that not proven about these products No FDA approved OTC chelation products. "
Society and culture
In 1998, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) website and the brochure they publish have made false or unfounded claims. In December 1998, the FTC announced that it had obtained an approval agreement that prohibits ACAM from making unproven advertising statements that chelation therapy is effective against atherosclerosis or other diseases of the circulatory system.
In August 2005, a doctor's mistake led to the death of a five-year-old autistic boy undergoing chelation therapy. Others, including a non-struggling three-year-old girl and an adult lacking love, have died while undergoing chelation therapy. This death is caused by a heart attack caused by hypocalcemia during chelation therapy. In two cases, hypocalcemia appears to be caused by administration of Na2EDTA (disodium EDTA) and in the third case the type of EDTA is unknown. Only 3-year-old girls were found to have elevated blood lead levels and resulted in low levels of iron and anemia, which are the conventional medical causes for chelation therapy administration. According to the protocol, EDTA should not be used in the care of children. More than 30 deaths have been recorded in connection with IV-administered disodium EDTA since the 1970s.
Use in alternative medicine
In alternative medicine, some practitioners claim chelation therapy can treat various diseases, including heart disease and autism. The use of chelation therapy by alternative medicine practitioners for behavioral and other disorders is considered pseudoscientific; there is no evidence that it is effective. In addition to ineffective, chelation therapy before heavy metal testing can artificially increase the concentration of heavy metals ("provoke" urine tests) and lead to inappropriate and unnecessary treatment. The American College of Medical Toxicology and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology warn the public that chelating drugs used in chelation therapy may have serious side effects, including liver and kidney damage, changes in blood pressure, allergies and in some cases even death of the patient.
Cancer
The American Cancer Society says about chelation therapy: "Available scientific evidence does not support the claim that it is effective to treat other conditions such as cancer.Chelation therapy can be toxic and has the potential to cause kidney damage, irregular heartbeat, and even death."
Cardiovascular Disease
The National Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine (NCCAM) tested the safety and efficacy of chelation therapy for patients with coronary artery disease. NCCAM director Stephen E. Straus cites "the widespread use of chelation therapy as a substitute for established therapy, lack of adequate previous research to verify the safety and effectiveness, and overall impact of coronary artery disease" as motivating factors for the trial. This study has been criticized by some who say it is unethical, unnecessary and dangerous, and that some previous studies have shown that care is not beneficial.
According to systematic review findings of 1997, EDTA chelation therapy is ineffective as a treatment for coronary artery disease and this use is not approved in the United States by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Several possible mechanisms for its efficacy have been proposed, although none have been scientifically validated.
The American Heart Association stated in 1997 that there was "no scientific evidence to demonstrate any benefit from this form of therapy." The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American College of Cardiology "all agree with the American Heart Association" that "no scientific, controlled, and published scientific studies are currently approved. scientific studies to support this therapy for cardiovascular disease. "They speculate that any increase among heart patients undergoing chelation therapy could be attributed to a placebo effect and generally recommended lifestyle changes such as" quitting smoking, losing weight, eating more fruits and vegetables, avoid foods high in saturated fat and exercise regularly. " They are also concerned that patients may delay the proven treatment for heart disease such as medication or surgery.
A systematic review published in 2005 found that controlled scientific studies did not support chelation therapy for heart disease. It was found that very small trials and uncontrolled descriptive studies have reported benefits while larger controlled studies have found no better results than placebo.
In 2009, the Montana Medical Examining Board issued a position paper concluding that "chelation therapy has no proven efficacy in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, and in some patients it can hurt."
The final results of TACT were published in November 2012. The authors concluded that "simple" EDTA chelation disodium reduces the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes among stable patients with a history of myocardial infarction. The study also showed a marked decrease in cardiovascular events in diabetic patients treated with EDTA chelation. An editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that "research findings may provide a novel hypothesis appropriate for further evaluation to help understand the pathophysiology of secondary prevention of vascular disease." Critics of the study characterized this study as not showing support for the use of chelation therapy in coronary heart disease, in particular claims to reduce the need for coronary artery grafting bypass (CABG, pronounced "cabbage").
The US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine initiated a Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) in 2003. The patient's registration will be completed around July 2009 with final completion around July 2010, but enrollment is voluntarily suspended by the organizers in September 2008 after the Office of Human Research Protection began investigating complaints such as lack of informed consent. In addition, the experiment was criticized for lack of previous Phase I and II studies, and critics summarized previous controlled trials as "found no evidence that chelation was superior to placebo for CAD or PVD treatment." The same critics argue that the methodological shortcomings and lack of prior probability make trials "unethical, dangerous, useless, and wasteful." American College of Cardiology supports experiments and research to explore whether chelation therapy is effective in treating heart disease. Evidence of insurance fraud and other criminal convictions among (backing chelation) researchers further undermines the credibility of the trial.
Autism
Quackwatch says that autism is one of the conditions in which chelation therapy has been promoted incorrectly as effective, and practitioners falsify the diagnosis of metal poisoning to "cheat" parents into having their children undergo the process. In 2008, up to 7% of children worldwide with autism have undergone chelation therapy. Parents also have doctors who use treatment for lead poisoning, or buy unregulated supplements, especially DMSA and lipoic acid. Aspies For Freedom, the autism rights organization, considers the use of chelation therapy unethical and potentially dangerous. There is little or no credible scientific research that supports the use of chelation therapy for the effective treatment of autism.
See also
- Ineffective list of cancer treatments
References
External links
- Chelation Therapy: Unclaimed Claim and Unsound Theory - Quackwatch
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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