Autism: Is Chelation Therapy Effective?

In recent years, chelation therapy has been touted by several alternative practitioners as a cure for autism. The use of chelation therapy for children with autism is based on the belief that autism is either caused or aggravated by mercury poisoning. This perception stems from the fact that, thimerosal, a preservative containing almost 50% ethyl mercury by weight, was used in vaccines throughout the 1990s. And, though it could be a mere coincidence, or a result of better diagnosis, but there was an inexplicable rise in autism cases during the 1990s. Therefore, the specific etiology of autism is considered by some as mercury poisoning. Since, chelation therapy is efficient in the treatment of mercury poisoning, it is therefore claimed to be a cure for autism.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which primarily effects social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interest, and patterns of behavior. Since the mainstream medicine community is unable to pinpoint the specific cause of autism, alternative practitioners have come up with several theories, and a supposed cure - chelation therapy. All theories, propounded by chelation therapy practitioners, relate autism with heavy metal poisoning, chiefly mercury poisoning.

Mainstream medicine disproves chelation therapy for children with autism. There argument is that autistics may have a risk of contracting heavy metal toxicity, but this is due to a severe metallothionein deficiency. Metallothionein is a protein that regulates metals inside the human body. Apart from zinc signaling (carrying zinc from one part of a body cell to another), metallothionein is responsible for detoxification of mercury and heavy metals. There is a lack of metallothionein proteins in autism, thereby making autistics more susceptible to heavy metal poisoning. But, there is no valid scientific evidence to advocate the notion that heavy metals cause autism. Moreover, in 2001, a study conducted by Dr. William J. Walsh, suggested that metallothionein disorder might be a fundamental cause of autism.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the use of chelation therapy for the treatment of mercury and heavy metal poisoning, barring its use in any other ailment. In spite of constant criticism from conventional medicine, chelation therapy for children with autism is being embraced with fervor by several parents of autistic children. Recently, a number of parent-initiated organizations have sprung up to support the cause. For instance, Generation Rescue is one such organization, which is based on the conviction that flushing mercury out of children's bodies improves and in some instances reverses autism.