FDA Goes After Popular Alternative Treatments for Autism and Alzheimer's (Chelation)

[HuckleB]

http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/15/fda-goes-after-popular-alternative-treatments-for-autism-and-alzheimers/

"For many desperate patients, over-the-counter chelation treatments used for conditions including autism, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease, among others, offered hope for a cure. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on the makers of such products, saying they are dangerous and illegal.

The FDA sent warning letters to eight makers of chelators — drugs that remove heavy metals from the body — to stop marketing the drug for medical uses for which it has not been approved, a violation of federal law. The products, which are widely marketed and available on the Internet, may cause serious and potentially deadly health complications, including dehydration and kidney failure. Many companies that sell chelators also sell metal toxicity tests, which encourage people to test their levels and, in turn, may boost chelator sales.

...

Some parents of autistic kids, for instance, claim that heavy-metal poisoning is a cause of autism and that chelators help affected children. There is no medical evidence to support that claim. However, there is evidence that the products can be dangerous: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 5-year-old autistic boy died of a heart attack while being given an intravenous chelation treatment at his doctor's office in 2005. The same year, a 2-year-old girl in Texas suffered the same fate. (More on Time.com: Top 10 Product Recalls)

Several of the eight companies contacted by the FDA responded with dismay, saying the treatment has been around for more than a decade and is beneficial to many. Failure to address the federal violations, however, can result in fines, confiscation of the products or criminal prosecution."


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It's about time!


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FDA’s Move Against “Chelation” Cure for Autism Is Long Overdue
http://www.bnet.com/blog/drug-business/fda-8217s-move-against-8220chelation-8221-cure-for-autism-is-long-overdue/6096

[ck4829]

1. Chelation is legitimately used for workers exposed to heavy metals

There is a clear cause and a clear amount of heavy metals that need to be removed.

There is no such thing in alternative medicine.

This is pseudoscience, pure and simple, and it's confusing why the FDA didn't move sooner on this.

[HuckleB]

2. It's clear that something is broken at the FDA, and it's leaving people vulnerable. -eom-

[HuckleB]

3. .

Selfish kick.