Chelation therapy is used to remove heavy metals from blood. However, there may be risks and research doesn’t show if there’s a connection to treating other conditions, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
Chelation therapy is a method for removing heavy metals, such as mercury or lead, from blood. It’s one of the standard treatments for many types of metal poisoning.
In recent years, some people have claimed that chelation therapy can also help to treat many other conditions, including heart disease, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes.
We explain how chelation therapy works before diving into some of its less conventional uses to see whether it’s actually effective.
Chelation therapy involves injecting a type of medication called a chelator or chelating agent. Some common chelators include ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), dimercaptosuccinic acid, and dimercaprol.
Some chelators are better at removing certain metals than others are.
Chelators work by binding to metals in the bloodstream. Once they’re injected into the bloodstream, they circulate through the blood, binding to metals. In this way, chelators collect all the heavy metals into a compound that’s filtered through the kidneys and released in urine.
Chelation therapy is a very effective way to remove several heavy metals from blood, including:
- lead
- arsenic
- mercury
- iron
- copper
- nickel
Many things can cause heavy metal poisoning, including:
- drinking polluted water
- breathing heavily polluted air
- ingesting bits of lead paint
However, several conditions can also lead to a buildup of certain metals in the body. Some of these include:
- Wilson’s disease, a genetic disorder that causes copper poisoning in the body
- hemochromatosis, a condition that causes the body to absorb too much iron from food
- chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis, which can cause a buildup of aluminum in the body
- blood disorders, such as thalassemia, requiring frequent blood transfusions, which can cause a buildup of iron in the body
Heart disease
Some people advocate using chelation therapy to treat atherosclerosis, which causes a buildup of plaque in arteries. Over time, it can lead to heart disease. Proponents claim that chelators bind to calcium found in plaque, which helps to loosen and remove the buildup.
While this seems logical, there’s very little evidence that chelation therapy helps. For example, a large-scale
While some participants had a decreased risk of other heart problems, it wasn’t enough to justify the risks involved, which we discuss later.
Diabetes
Chelation therapy won’t treat diabetes. However, people with diabetes have a much
A 2015
Autism
Some people believe that thimerosal causes autism. Thimerosal is a preservative that contains mercury and is used in some vaccines. However, this 2010 study debunked this. Vaccines don’t cause autism.
In addition, a 2012 review of studies looking at the link between autism and mercury concluded there wasn’t enough evidence that chelation therapy is an effective treatment for autism.
However, a newer
In 2005, for example, a five-year-old boy with autism died while receiving intravenous EDTA from his doctor as part of chelation therapy. In 2006, the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health decided to
They made the decision after an
Read about other types of alternative treatments for autism.
Alzheimer’s disease
The use of chelation therapy for Alzheimer’s disease is based on the belief that it’s caused by a buildup of aluminum in the brain from aluminum pots and pans, water, food, and deodorant.
However, a
Regardless of the relationship between the two, most chelators are too large to cross the blood-brain barrier. This barrier acts as a kind of net that controls what enters and exits your brain. However, some researchers believe that EDTA may be able to enter the brain, though this isn’t confirmed.
Check out these other alternative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease
It’s known that iron builds up in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease. However, researchers still don’t fully understand the role that iron plays in the disease. It’s also not clear whether removing iron from the brain provides any benefit to people with Parkinson’s disease.
A 2016 review concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to draw any kind of connection between chelation therapy and Parkinson’s disease.
Interested in other alternative treatments for Parkinson’s disease? Learn more about the role of nutrition in this disease.
Chelation therapy requires the use of powerful chelators that can produce a variety of mild to severe side effects.
One of the most common side effects of chelation therapy is a burning sensation near the injection site. Other mild to moderate side effects include:
- fever
- headache
- nausea and vomiting
Riskier potential side effects include:
- low blood pressure
- anemia
- cardiac arrhythmias
- seizures
- brain damage
- vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- permanent kidney and liver damage
- hypocalcemia, which can be
fatal - severe allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock
Due to these dangers, chelation therapy is only recommended for use in treating metal poisoning where the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.
Chelation therapy usually requires intravenous medication several times a week for months at a time. This often includes hundreds of treatments, which cost between $75 and $125 each.
Keep in mind that most insurance plans only cover the use of chelation therapy for FDA-approved conditions, which tend to involve some type of poisoning. These treatments are given in a medical facility for poisoning.
Chelation therapy is a powerful treatment that’s used to remove heavy metals from blood. Some people claim that it can also treat other conditions, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
However, researchers still don’t fully understand if there is a relationship between these conditions and heavy metals. In addition, chelation therapy carries some serious risks.
So far, the possible benefits for these other conditions don’t outweigh the risks.
