Some parents already are allowing treatment linked to belief that mercury causes disorder By Carla K. Johnson
Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008 CHICAGO:Pressured by desperate parents, government researchers are pushing totest an unproven treatment on autistic children, a move some scientistssee as an unethical experiment in voodoo medicine. The treatment removes heavy metals from the body and isbased on the fringe theory that mercury in vaccines triggers autism —an unproven theory rejected by mainstream science. Mercury hasn't beenin childhood vaccines since 2001, except for certain flu shots. But many parents of autistic children are believers, andthe head of the National Institute of Mental Health supports testing iton children provided the tests are safe. ''So many moms have said, 'It's saved my kids,' '' institute director Dr. Thomas Insel said. Fornow, the proposed study, not widely known outside the community ofautism research and advocacy groups, has been put on hold because ofsafety concerns, Insel said. The process, called chelation, is used to treat leadpoisoning. Studies of adults have shown it to be ineffective unlessthere are high levels of metals in the blood. Any study in childrenwould have to exclude those with high levels of lead or mercury, whichwould require treatment and preclude using a placebo. One of the drugs used for chelation, DMSA, can cause sideeffects, including rashes and low white blood cell count. And there isevidence chelation may redistribute metals in the body, perhaps eveninto the central nervous system. ''I don't really know why we have to do this in helplesschildren,'' said Ellen Silbergeld of Johns Hopkins University'sBloomberg School of Public Health, who was invited to comment on thestudy to a review board of the national institute. Despite lawsuits and at least one child's death, severalthousand autistic children are already believed to be using chelation,their parents not content to wait for a study. Autism is a spectrum of disorders that hamper a person'sability to communicate and interact with others. Conventionaltreatments are limited to behavioral therapy and a few medications,such as the schizophrenia drug Risperdal, approved to treatirritability. Frustrated parents use more than 300 alternativetreatments, most with little or no scientific evidence backing them up,according to the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy KriegerInstitute in Baltimore. ''With a lot of mothers, if they hear about a treatment,they feel like they need to try it,'' said project director Dr. PaulLaw. ''Anything that has a chance of benefiting their child, they'rewilling to give it a shot.'' More than 2 percent of the children tracked by the projectuse chelation. If that figure holds for the general population, itwould mean more than 3,000 autistic children are on the treatment atany time in the United States. CHICAGO:Pressured by desperate parents, government researchers are pushing totest an unproven treatment on autistic children, a move some scientistssee as an unethical experiment in voodoo medicine. Thetreatment removes heavy metals from the body and is based on the fringetheory that mercury in vaccines triggers autism — an unproven theoryrejected by mainstream science. Mercury hasn't been in childhoodvaccines since 2001, except for certain flu shots. Butmany parents of autistic children are believers, and the head of theNational Institute of Mental Health supports testing it on childrenprovided the tests are safe. ''So many moms have said, 'It's saved my kids,' '' institute director Dr. Thomas Insel said. Fornow, the proposed study, not widely known outside the community ofautism research and advocacy groups, has been put on hold because ofsafety concerns, Insel said. Theprocess, called chelation, is used to treat lead poisoning. Studies ofadults have shown it to be ineffective unless there are high levels ofmetals in the blood. Any study in children would have to exclude thosewith high levels of lead or mercury, which would require treatment andpreclude using a placebo. Oneof the drugs used for chelation, DMSA, can cause side effects,including rashes and low white blood cell count. And there is evidencechelation may redistribute metals in the body, perhaps even into thecentral nervous system. ''Idon't really know why we have to do this in helpless children,'' saidEllen Silbergeld of Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School ofPublic Health, who was invited to comment on the study to a reviewboard of the national institute. Despitelawsuits and at least one child's death, several thousand autisticchildren are already believed to be using chelation, their parents notcontent to wait for a study. Autismis a spectrum of disorders that hamper a person's ability tocommunicate and interact with others. Conventional treatments arelimited to behavioral therapy and a few medications, such as theschizophrenia drug Risperdal, approved to treat irritability. Frustratedparents use more than 300 alternative treatments, most with little orno scientific evidence backing them up, according to the InteractiveAutism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. ''Witha lot of mothers, if they hear about a treatment, they feel like theyneed to try it,'' said project director Dr. Paul Law. ''Anything thathas a chance of benefiting their child, they're willing to give it ashot.'' Morethan 2 percent of the children tracked by the project use chelation. Ifthat figure holds for the general population, it would mean more than3,000 autistic children are on the treatment at any time in the UnitedStates.  Ohio.com, July 9, 2008
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