TREATMENT DATABASE

Chelation therapy involves use of intravenous EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) to bind and remove metal molecules from the body. It was developed in the late 1940s to treat lead poisoning. A decade earlier it was discovered that EDTA, a synthetic amino acid compound, had the ability to bind with calcium. (As a consequence, EDTA is classified as a calcium channel blocker.) The resulting calcium combinations then bind with heavy metals in the bloodstream and remove them by way of the kidneys and bladder. Although the only approved use of chelation in the United States is to treat heavy metal poisoning (chiefly lead, arsenic and iron), chelation therapy has also been used to treat chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, stroke, cataracts, senility, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.

USES IN ME/CFS: Few ME/CFS physicians have included chelation in their protocols. In 1994 Dr. Boergman of South Africa reported a 100% improvement rate in 16 ME/CFS patients using EDTA chelation. One of Dr. Boergman's patients recovered totally after 10 infusions. The others reported 60% to 90% recovery from physical and mental symptoms. (It is important to note that Dr. Boergman's study was quite small and has not been replicated. Other physicians have not substantiated Dr. Boergman's findings.)

There is a subset of health practitioners who believe that mercury amalgams are responsible for ME/CFS. They routinely advise patients to have the amalgams replaced, followed up by chelation therapy to remove mercury from the body. While some people have gone through this costly process, most have not found chelation curative.

Treatment rating for Chelation Therapy