Therapy for Healthy

Chelation therapy has always been a major topic of debate and now there is an added problem. Oral chelation therapy has taken the chelation therapy procedure to a whole new level and replacing the injected EDTA with a pill form of EDTA. Some of the same people that arenot supporters of chelation therapy are also not believer in oral chelation therapy. The difference is that there are some supporters of traditional chelation therapy that do not buy into the oral chelation therapy idea. Actually these same people have some theories of why oral chelation therapy is actually harmful to the human body. We will go into the basics of their argument for you to use as a basis for your further investigation.

Scientists say that the human body only absorbs five percent of the EDTA that is taken orally leaving about ninety five percent of the EDTA in the body. The huge amount of EDTA consumed form oral chelation therapy can stick around and mix with the undigested food and continue to absorb the nutrients from the food like copper, zinc and chromium. The more the EDTA absorbs the less the body has access to absorb. The lack of these nutrients can lead to a body’s deficiency and lead to further problems. This can be a compelling argument against oral chelation therapy still many people and doctors are believers.

Another argument against oral chelation therapy but one that promotes traditional chelation therapy is the length of time that the EDTA is in the body. When a person is doing oral chelation therapy they are ingesting EDTA daily for along period of time. If the EDTA spends everyday absorbing nutrients away from the body the deficiency can occur. The way this differs from traditional chelation therapy is that the procedure can accomplish its desired effect in a month or so. This small window of time has less of a chance of leading to nutrient deficiency. Once the EDTA is out of the system there will be nothing for the body to compete with for the nutrients.

Regardless of whether you trust in oral chelation therapy or traditional chelation therapy from the start, both procedures are likely here to stay. The popularity of oral chelation therapy has been increasing recently and there is no saying how much more popular it will get. Check with your doctor if you are thinking of using chelation therapy to treat an ailment or buying oral chelation therapy pills. Be healthy and feel happy.

Get more information about Oral Chelation Therapy or traditional Chelation Therapy.

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Chelation therapy has been used to treat heavy metal poisoning since World War II. The term ‘chelate’ was coined by the analytical chemist, G.T. Morgan in 1920. ‘Chelate’ is the Greek word for ‘claw’. Alfred Werner, the son of a factory foreman and the ‘Father of Coordination Chemistry’, was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize for developing this concept of chelation therapy. In chelation therapy, the ring within the molecule of the chelator captures and firmly binds the metallic ions. Thus chelation therapy treats heavy metal poisoning by forming complexes with the molecules of the heavy metal, which are then excreted in urine. Up to a certain stage, the subsequent fall in the metal stores can help reverse the toxicity.

‘Dimercaprol’, more commonly known as BAL was the first agent used in chelating therapy. During the II World War, biochemists at Oxford University developed BAL as an antidote for the war gas Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes acute arsenical blisters and systemic arsenic poisoning. That is how the first chelating agent, Dimercaprol, came to be known as British Anti-Lewisite (BAL). Soon the effectiveness of Dimercaprol in the chelation therapy of heavy metal poisoning became evident. Peters noted that BAL ointment had proved very successful in cases of industrial arsenical accidents. Injectable forms of BAL were also found to be effective in chelation therapy. By 1947, 32 articles were published or in press on the therapeutic value of BAL. BAL became the chelation therapy of choice in arsenic, antimony, gold, and mercury poisoning.

A study conducted by Denny-Brown and Porter in 1951 found other uses of BAL as a chelating agent. BAL was noted to be an effective in chelation therapy of Wilson’s disease wherein excessive amount of Copper accumulates in the body. BAL chelates copper and removes it from body by excretion. At this time a need for better chelators was felt. BAL was found to be associated with various toxic effects and moreover, chelation therapy with BAL became ineffective in most patients after some time.

In 1956, Walsh first advocated use of Penicillamine, another chelating agent in treatment of Wilson’s disease. Penicillamine was found to be more effective and less toxic. It is now commonly used in treatment of Wilson’s disease.

In the 1950s and 1960s, there was an explosion of publications on the effects of various chelating agents in animals and human beings. Ferdinand Munz had discovered EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid), a synthetic amino acid with chelating properties way back in 1938. By 1951, EDTA was widely used in treatment of inorganic lead poisoning and is approved by FDA for the same.

The numerous adverse effects of BAL, and the need to give it intravenously, stimulated further research in this field. It was on the whole found to be inefficient in the chelation therapy of chronic mercury poisoning. Water soluble derivatives of BAL, like Meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 2, 3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonic acid (DMPS) were developed. They were found to be highly effective in treatment of mercury and lead poisoning.

DMSA and DMPS exhibit very low toxicity and are valuable oral chelating agents. In 1999, Baun opined that, unlike BAL, DMSA can be used in treatment of organic mercury poisoning. Patients with chronic mercury poisoning can now receive oral chelation therapy with DMSA, eliminating the need for a hospital admission. In 2003, Bose-OReilily and other found that oral DMSA was highly effective in treating chronic mercury toxicity among the inhabitants of gold-mining area in Philippines. DMSA was licensed by FDA for treatment of lead poisoning in 1991. Given their proven advantages over BAL, DMSA and DMPS have gained increased acceptance among clinicians. They have improved the management of heavy metal poisoning.

BAL derivatives are not effective in chelating iron. Previously, deferoxamine was the only iron-chelator available which needed to be given as long intravenous infusions.
Recently, deferasirox, an oral iron-chelator was developed. Deferasirox is approved for oral chelation therapy for disorders like sickle cell anemia, which are characterized by excess accumulation of iron in body.

You could look up Oral Chelation therapy at Awake Nutrition (http://www.awakennutrition.com) and find further information on Oral Chelation Agents like PCA-rx (available at Oral Chelation Therapy http://www.awakennutrition.com/about.html).

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Efficient oral chelation therapy for mercury toxicity and other heavy metal poisoning is now available with DMSA (Meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid) and DMPS (2, 3-dimercapto propane-1-sulfonic acid). These oral chelators are water soluble and can be administered in the tablet form. The sulf-hydryl structures present in their structure is responsible for the property of chelation. These structures bind mercury in the body, leading to its excretion.

Oral chelators were derived from dimercaprol, also known as British anti-Lewisite, (BAL). BAL has been used for chelation therapy in heavy metal poisoning since the 1940’s. In 1975, Friedheim demonstrated that DMSA was a better choice than BAL for chelation therapy in mercury toxicity. These oral chelators also have a milder toxicity profile compared to BAL and D-penicillamine. Ever since then, DMSA has been the first choice for oral chelation therapy for mercury poisoning.

In acute mercury toxicity, DMSA is given at a dose of 10 mg for every kilogram body weight divided over three times a day for five days. For example, a 60 kg person would be prescribed 200mg of DMSA, three times a day, for 5 days. Then the frequency of administration is reduced to twice a day for the next fourteen days. Thereafter, oral chelation therapy is guided by blood and 24-hour urine mercury levels. Chelation should be continued until the mercury blood level and the 24-hour urine mercury level falls below 20 microgram per liter.

Comparison of Oral Chelation Therapy with BAL in Mercury Toxicity:

Convenience of administration: Oral chelators are taken in the tablet form, whereas BAL needs to be given as painful injections into the muscles. Oral chelators are especially useful in chronic mercury toxicity (apart from acute toxicity) where long-term chelator therapy is required.

Oral chelators are stable at room temperature for long periods. They retain their chemical structure and function despite exposure to the environment whereas BAL is unstable and very susceptible to oxidation.

Chelation therapy using oral chelators like DMSA does not have any toxic effects on the brain. Some injectable chelators, like BAL for example, redistribute organic mercury from the system to the brain and may worsen the neural function in organic mercury toxicity. On the other hand, an oral chelator like DMSA removes mercury from the brain. Studies done on animals also highlights that oral chelation with DMSA is the most effective chelation therapy, reducing mercury levels up to 66.6% from the brain in organic mercury toxicity.

High Safety Margin: The dose required to produce toxicity using oral chelators is very high compared to the dose required for therapy. This room for error allows oral chelation therapy to be used safety without close monitoring by a physician. On the other hand, chelation therapy with BAL has to be monitored very strictly.

The safety and efficacy of oral chelators has been proven in multiple studies on animals and human beings. Treatment with DMSA results in the greatest urinary excretion of mercury compared to other heavy metal chelators. DMSA is highly effective in removing mercury from the blood, liver, brain, spleen, lungs, large intestine, skeletal muscles and bones.

Adverse effects:

Oral chelators generally do not produce any major side-effects other than stomach upsets, skin rashes. Very rarely chelation therapy may result in a reduction in blood cells and elevate the liver enzymes. However, they can cause deficiency of copper, zinc manganese and molybdenum. These minerals must be supplemented when oral chelation therapy is prescribed. The oral chelator, DMPS may cause asthmatic attacks and a reduction in blood pressure in some patients. Oral chelators remove mercury by excretion in urine. Therefore, they can only be used in people with normal kidney function.

Reference:

1. Anderson O (2004) Chemical and biological considerations in the treatment of metal intoxications by chelating agents. Mini Reviews in medicinal chemistry 4, 11-21.

2. Anderson O, Aaseth J (2002) Molecular mechanisms of in vivo metal chelation: implications for clinical treatment of metal intoxications. Environmental Health Perspectives 110, 887-90.

3. Miller AL (1998) Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), a non-toxic, water-soluble treatment for heavy metal toxicity. Alternative Medicine Review 3, 199-207.

4. Clarkson TW, Magos L, Myers GJ (2003) The Toxicology of Mercury Current Exposures and Clinical Manifestations. New England Journal of Medicine 349, 1731-37.

About the Author: Dr.Nelson Hargove is a practising physician and seeks to provide the latest medical consensus from peer-reviewed medical literature.

Further information on Oral Chelation Therapy is available at Awake Nutrition (http://www.awakennutrition.com). You could also find some very effective oral chelating agents, like PCA-rx, here (Oral Chelators: http://www.awakennutrition.com/about.html).

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