Canceled chelation study roils the blogosphere
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About that clinical trial of chelation for autism -- never mind. The National Institute of Mental Health has canceled its plans to study the procedure, which removes heavy metals from the body, saying its safety couldn’t be trusted.
Chelation has been proven in the treatment of lead poisoning, not autism treatment, and scientists are skeptical of its effectiveness. But many parents of autistic kids swear by it and had been pushing for more research on the procedure.
After balking in the wake of a troubling study on the therapy’s use in rats, the NIMH finally said: Forget it. As the Associated Press reports: ‘The agency decided the money would be better used testing other potential therapies for autism and related disorders.’
The reaction from the blogosphere was swift and, though predictable, illuminating for the light it casts on the entrenched points of view about the condition -- and about the potential treatments.
From Hating Autism:
‘One would think the liars in our government would have gone ahead with this study as it may have done a good job of fooling more people into believing that we could not cure autism.’
From Age of Autism:
‘So who canned the NIMH chelation study as ‘too dangerous’? Children are given huge doses of chemotherapy and radiation in a desperate effort to save them from cancer -- fully knowing the side effects themselves can be deadly. It’s a fair risk most parents are willing to take to help a sick child.’
Then there’s Left Brain / Right Brain:
‘No one consideres the most likely reason for this cancellation: a) There is no evidence metals cause autism. b) There is evidence chelation can cause injury. c) There is therefore what any rational person would see as an unacceptable amount of risk to children.’
And NeuroLogica Blog:
‘The anti-vaccine mercury militia is not a group persuaded by scientific evidence, and so performing a scientifically and ethically dubious study to satisfy them is a fool’s errand.’
Here’s a recent Healthy Skeptic look at chelation therapy: Want to get the lead out? Chelation pills are risky.
-- Tami Dennis