Chelation
Treatment Has Been Used for Decades
To Treat Metal Poisoning
Chelation, pronounced
key-lay-shun, is a treatment that uses the chemical substance EDTA
to bind molecules like minerals and metals in order to remove them
from the body. It is believed that chelation treatment was first
used in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy to treat those suffering with
lead poisoning. Since then, it is estimated that every year 1 million
people in the United States receive a chelation treatment. Chelation
treatment involves inserting a needle into a patient’s vein,
and this needle is attached to an IV drip containing EDTA, ethylene
diamine tetra-acetic acid. A single treatment can last up to three
hours, but patients generally need up to 30 chelation treatments
which are administered within several weeks.
Chelation treatment has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for heavy metal poisoning, but for decades, alternative
medicine practitioners have also used it for the treatment of heart
conditions like arteriosclerosis, which is the hardening of the
arteries. Because EDTA not only binds toxic metals but also calcium,
which is one of the components of arteriosclerosis plaque, people
believe a chelation treatment can alleviate the condition. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, as well at the American Heart Association,
don’t believe this to be so and don’t approve the treatment
for heart conditions. Still, about 100,000 people receive a chelation
treatment each year and many swear by its success.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute are funding a study
on the use of a chelation treatment for heart conditions. The study
should be finished by 2010.
|
