Autism Vox

Cornell Study Raises Concerns About Chelation

by Kristina Chew, PhD on December 14th, 2006

Cornell University researchers have found that, when chelation drugs are administered to rats who do not have lead in their systems, they presented with declines in their learning ability and with behavior problems that were similar to those in rats who had been exposed to lead. Barbara Strupp, Cornell associate professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology, is the senior author of the study, which has been published in Environmental Health Perspectives. The researchers used succimer (brand name, Chemet), the most widely-used drug for treating lead exposure. As reported in today’s Chronicle Online (Cornell University),

The study used rats — whose mental and behavioral responses to lead exposure are similar to humans’ — and exposed them to moderate- and high-lead levels (administered via mothers’ milk). A third group — the control — was not exposed. Exposures were followed by a treatment with succimer or placebo. Immediately thereafter, the researchers conducted automated tests over six months on the rats’ attention, memory and abilities to learn and regulate emotions.

The rats with moderate-lead exposure benefited greatly from the succimer: Their test results were indistinguishable from the control test results. Rats exposed to higher lead levels showed benefits in the emotional domain: After succimer treatment, they behaved similarly to the control group. However, the treatment only slightly improved their learning deficit.

In the group that had no lead exposure but were given succimer, “we found lasting cognition and emotion-regulation [deficits] that were as pervasive and large as rats with high lead exposure,” said Strupp. She added that one possibility is that succimer, in the absence of lead, may disrupt the balance of such essential minerals as zinc and iron. “These findings raise concerns about the use of chelating agents in treating autistic children,” she said.

Chelation therapy is used to treat autistic children who are thought, and/or have been tested for, the presence of heavy, toxic metals in their systems. It is thought that, by removing the heavy metals from the children’s systems, the symptoms of autism will be lessened and even eliminated. It is a therapy we long ago decided not to pursue for our son Charlie.

Thanks to MomSquawk for the link to this study.

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