Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of Autism

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Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of Autism JoAnn Guest Aug 28, 2005

13:37 PDT

 

http://www.healing-arts.org/children/holmes.htm#treatment

 

Quick Index to This Page

 

About this specific treatment

 

 

Autism - Etiology

 

 

Testing for Mercury Toxicity

 

 

Lab Tests Useful for Evaluating Mercury Toxicity

 

 

Abnormalities on Physical Exam Often Found

 

 

Treatment of Mercury Toxicity

 

 

Early Results

 

 

Bibliography

 

 

Additional Resources and Related Articles

 

 

What you think of this specific treatment [Web-Forum Discussions]

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Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of Autism

 

 

 

Autism - Etiology:

 

Autism and disorders resembling autism can be caused by a number of

disorders, including Fragile X Syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and

phenylketonuria, and by at least one notable chromosomal abnormality, an

inverted duplication of a portion of chromosome 15. But for the vast

majority of cases of autism today, there is no strictly genetic

explanation. As with many chronic disorders, most cases of autism appear

to be caused by some genetic predisposition coupled with some early

environmental insult.

 

Several recently-released reports point to the occurrence of an autism

" epidemic " with the latest incidence figures quoted to be on the order

of 1 out of every 250 children. The Report on Autism to the California

Legislature released in 1999 documents a large increase in full-blown

DSM IV autism alone, with other disorders increasing at the same rate as

population growth. F. E. Yazbak, M.D. found similar rates of increasing

incidence in other states reported in his Autism 99: A National

Emergency. The Center for Disease Control’s own investigation of Brick

township, New Jersey found a very high incidence of autism as well. Some

noted sources attribute the apparent increase in autism incidence to

better diagnoses on the part of pediatricians and the various pediatric

specialties. Most, however, are unable to fully accept this simplistic

explanation because the diagnosis is strictly a behavioral one, and it

is highly doubtful that the highly skilled diagnosticians of earlier

years could have overlooked such obvious behavioral anomalies occurring

in such a large proportion of children. Furthermore, since it is

impossible to have a " genetic epidemic " , one must examine possible early

environmental insults for clues to explain the increase in autism cases.

 

Bernard, et al, have written an excellent article comparing autism with

mercury poisoning. All aspects of both disorders are examined, including

symptoms, signs and findings on laboratory tests. The parallels between

the two disorders is disturbingly obvious, even to the most casual

reader. This, coupled with many case reports of clinical improvement

among autistic children upon removal of at least a small part of their

whole-body load of mercury, seems to indicate that many cases of autism

today are, in fact, cases of mercury poisoning. The early environmental

insult, in these cases, is mercury exposure that overwhelmed the body’s

attempts at detoxification.

 

How does mercury gain access to a fetus or an infant? First of all,

mercury is ubiquitous. It is in our water supply. In this setting, it

exists mainly in cationic (1+ or 2+) form. This form is largely

unabsorbed. Fish and shellfish are a known source of organic mercury

(methyl mercury). Organic mercury is absorbed reasonably well by the

gastrointestinal tract. Exposure via these two routes is common, but it

is far exceeded by exposure via dental amalgams and

thimerosal-containing vaccines. Mercury vapor is known to be released

from dental amalgams, and it is known to cross the placenta with ease.

It is not too far-fetched to assume that some mercury vapor (Hg - 0) is

released from the dental amalgams of the mother, she inhales the vapor,

it enters her bloodstream, some crosses the placenta and enters the

developing fetus. Once metallic mercury (vapor, Hg - 0) enters the cell,

it can be easily converted to its cationic form, and in this form,

readily binds to sulfhydryl groups on enzymes and other proteins. Once

tightly bound via this mechanism, it is in the body for a long time.

Thimerosal-containing vaccines are now given with abandon. Upon its

arrival into our world, the newborn is greeted with a Hepatitis B

vaccine. He then receives several more doses of this vaccine along with

DPT and Hib vaccines. All three of these vaccines contain relatively

large amounts of thimerosal, which is 49.6% ethyl-mercury by weight. It

was not long ago that the only vaccine containing thimerosal was the DPT

vaccine. But, the Hepatitis B vaccine was made " mandatory " in 1991 and

the Hib vaccine a few years earlier. Is it a coincidence that the

incidence rate of autism has soared in the 1990's? Is it better

diagnosis or is it more mercury early in life? Add onto these noted

exposures the thimerosal-containing RhoGam injection. A reasonable

conclusion of greatly increased mercury exposure to developing fetuses,

newborns and young infants being responsible for the obvious autism

" epidemic " is almost inescapable.

 

Why isn’t every child equally affected? The answer remains unknown at

the present time, although recent investigations point to the

possibility of problems with at least one form of metallothionein.

Studies further investigating the structure and amounts of various

metallothionein proteins in autism will be done later this year.

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

 

 

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Testing for Mercury Toxicity:

 

 

Poisoning with most heavy metals is detected easily with blood tests.

For example, if a person has detectable lead in his body, he will have

some detectable lead in his blood. In fact, the gold standard for the

detection of poisoning for most heavy metals is a test of intracellular

content using red blood cells. Hair and urine levels of heavy metals are

a general reflection of blood levels. Also, getting rid of most heavy

metals such as lead with chelating agents is not difficult. This is

because most heavy metals in the body exist in a reasonable equilibrium

between their preferred storage sites and the bloodstream.

 

This is not the case with mercury. After an exposure, detectable levels

are present in the blood for only a short time, on the order of weeks to

a few months. This is because mercury, unless eliminated, quickly

becomes tightly bound to sulfhydryl-containing enzymes and other

proteins in the liver, kidney, lining of the gastrointestinal tract, and

brain. So, if any amount of time has elapsed after a significant mercury

exposure, little if any mercury will be detected in the blood, urine or

hair.

 

The only way of directly detecting the amount of mercury present in the

liver, kidney, GI tract, and brain is via biopsy of these organs. This

is NOT a recommended procedure. Besides, the real issue is not how much

mercury is present, but how mercury-toxic the patient really is. Mercury

has well-documented effects on different laboratory tests, so this is

the preferred way of measuring mercury toxicity. The list below is only

a partial list of helpful lab tests, and does not reflect at all the

effect of mercury on the brain itself.

 

Useful Lab Tests for Assessing The Presence of Heavy Metal Toxicity

(Partial List):

 

Urine Tests

 

 

Indications of Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation

Elevated fatty acid metabolites

Elevated lactate

Elevated hydroxymethylglutarate

Multiple partial blocks in Krebs cycle

Elevated 3-methyl histidine

Elevated sarcosine

Elevated pyroglutamate

Elevated vanilmandellate

Elevated homovanillate

Fractionated urine porphyrins

Elevated coproporphyrin

Elevated precoproporphyrin

 

 

Immune System Tests

 

 

Elevated total IgE

Low total IgG

Low IgG subclasses

Low CD8+ cells

Low NK cells

Elevated CD3+CD26+ cells

 

 

" Esoteric " Blood Tests

 

 

Low superoxide dismutase

Low reduced glutathione

Low glutathione peroxidase

Elevated lipid peroxides

Elevated blood and/or platelet serotonin

Elevated epinephrine and/or norepinephrine

 

 

Evidence of Urinary Sulfate-wasting - Low plasma sulfate with normal

urine sulfate/creatinine ratio.

Note : No one, even the most toxic person, has all these lab

abnormalities present.. Even the most mercury-toxic will have some

normal results.

 

 

 

Some signs of mercury toxicity affecting the brain and immune system can

be found on physical exam. Below is a very partial list:

 

Abnormalities on Physical Exam That Might Be Found in Mercury Toxicity:

 

Dilated pupils

Sweaty hands and feet

Pathologic reflexes - Babinski most common

Very brisk knee jerks

Slight esotropia

Rashes, eczema

Elevated heart rate

And there are many others. Because of the known kinetics of mercury in

the body, there are some abnormalities that will not be found unless the

mercury exposure was recent. These are:

 

 

Elevated hair mercury

Elevated blood mercury

Elevated intracellular (RBC) mercury

Elevated urine mercury

 

 

 

The natural history following exposure to mercury dictates certain

findings. A few months after exposure ends, there will be no detectable

mercury in the blood, urine or hair. For variable time periods after the

end of mercury exposure, the non-CNS organs will gradually rid

themselves of mercury, leaving just brain mercury behind. The half-life

of mercury in the brain is estimated to be on the order of 20 years —

far longer than its half-life in organs outside the central nervous

system. For this reason, the only mercury left in a person whose

exposure ended several years before testing is likely to be solely in

the central nervous system.

 

This is the situation in many autistic children, especially older

children, who have had no mercury exposure since vaccinations received

at 18 to 24 months of age. They have no amalgam fillings, they eat no

fish or seafood, and have received no further immunizations. In these

patients, challenge tests with conventional agents commonly used for

this purpose (DMSA, DMPS) show no mercury at all since these agents do

not cross the blood-brain barrier, and therefore have no access to CNS

mercury.

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

 

 

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Treatment of Mercury Toxicity:

 

In order to be a good chelator of mercury, a molecule must have two

opposed (in 3-D structure) sulfhydryl groups or other groups that bind

well to mercury. The effect of having these two opposed groups is to

bind divalent cationic mercury (Hg 2+) in sort of a " pincer grasp " ,

making it very difficult for mercury to leave the chelator to bind to

another molecule. Some compounds that meet this requirement are :

 

 

DMPS (2,3 dimercaptopropane sulfonate)

DMSA (meso-2,3 dimercaptosuccinic acid)

Lipoic acid

BAL - Dimercaprol - [Not Recommended]

Those compounds which have only 1 sulfhydryl or other mercury-binding

group are poor chelators simply because they do not bind mercury tightly

enough to keep it from binding to other molecules. Among these compounds

are MSM and cysteine. Their net effect may be simply moving mercury

around to other sites in the body.

 

One substance that may have some good chelating properties is cilantro.

The problem with this substance is that it is unknown at the present

time exactly what the ingredient present in cilantro might be that may

give it good chelating properties. Without knowing the identity of the

actual chelating substance, it is impossible to know how much and how

often it should be given.

 

Also it is impossible to determine if all cilantro has the same amount

of the unknown substance. It is probably a good idea not to use cilantro

for chelating mercury until more is known about the substances involved.

 

 

 

DMPS is a great mercury chelator. Unfortunately, it has never been

tested in children, and for this reason alone, we do not advocate its

use in children. It may prove to be safe for use in children, but until

safety testing has been done, we prefer to use the one chelator that has

been extensively tested and used for years in children — that is DMSA.

 

DMSA is an excellent chelator of most heavy metals including mercury.

When used appropriately, it is safe and effective. DMSA has survived the

testing necessary for FDA approval for use in children. This means it

has been tested in children and was found to be both safe and effective.

Despite the FDA’s poor record in testing and approving vaccines, the

procedures for testing and approval of drugs are quite rigorous.

 

The only approved use for DMSA is for the treatment of lead poisoning in

children. Fortunately, DMSA is not very selective about which heavy

metal it chelates, and binds to mercury quite readily. Despite claims of

DMSA’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it is doubtful

that it really does so. The study cited most often as proving DMSA’s

ability to cross the BBB was done in rats. Rats are known to not have a

good BBB. DMSA is water-soluble and not very lipid-soluble. This

characteristic alone raises some doubts about its true ability to cross

the BBB.

 

Lipoic acid fits the molecular criteria of a good chelator. It has two

diametrically opposed sulfhydryl groups capable of tightly binding

mercury in a " pincer grasp " . It also has the advantage of being

lipid-soluble which implies an innate ability to cross cell and

mitochondrial membranes and the BBB more easily than DMSA.

 

An ideal course of chelation therapy for mercury poisoning should

include the following:

 

First, stopping any ongoing exposure:

 

 

No more fish or seafood (salmon is supposed to be OK).

Replace any amalgam fillings in teeth with white composite material.

Use only thimerosal-free vaccines.

 

 

Gettting rid of the loosely-bound body mercury.

 

 

Then, chelating the more tightly-bound mercury including that in the

brain.

 

 

Appropriate nutritional support designed to counteract mercury’s known

effects and to make the patient more comfortable while mercury is being

moved around. The use of antioxidants is recommended.

 

 

Appropriate monitoring tests (especially important in non-verbal

children) to check on blood counts, kidney and liver function, and

mineral levels, and to gauge how much mercury is being excreted.

 

We have been using such an approach in the last 10 months with good

results. The course of treatment we are currently using consists of:

 

DMSA — until provoked urine mercury is low

 

 

DMSA plus lipoic acid — until no more mercury is excreted in urine or

stool

 

 

Appropriate nutritional support as determined by testing with particular

attention to antioxidants

 

 

Monitoring tests — CBC, liver function tests, serum copper, plasma zinc,

intracellular trace minerals — most every 2 to 3 months.

 

It appears that adding glycine to every dose of DMSA increases mercury

excretion.

 

When undertaking a course of chelation for mercury, one important point

is to do it in cycles consisting of " on " and " off " periods. Give the

patient as much time off chelation as on chelation. If any abnormal

results show up in the routine monitoring tests, it is best to stop

chelation for a while, retest, and resume chelation when the results

have normalized.

 

The following are some " Reasonable Rules for Life " for during and after

treatment for mercury toxicity:

 

No fish and no seafood (supposedly, salmon is okay).

 

 

No amalgam (metal) fillings in teeth. Use white composite material

instead.

 

 

No more thimerosal-containing vaccines. By 2002, all US vaccines will be

thimerosal-free. Until then, ask for thimerosal-free vaccines. For

almost every possible vaccine given, there is at least one brand that

does not contain thimerosal.

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

 

 

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Early Results:

 

 

We currently have over 500 autistic patients under treatment with DMSA

ranging in age from 1 to 24 years old. In general, we do not expect to

see any behavioral, language, or social improvements until at least some

of the CNS mercury has been removed. As of 1/15/01, we had 85 patients

who had finished DMSA alone and had completed at least 4 months of DMSA

+ lipoic acid. The results of treatment in these patients are presented

below:

 

n = 85 Improvement (%)

Age Number Marked Moderate Slight None

1-5 40 35 39 15 11

6-12 25 4 28 52 16

13-17 16 0 6 68 26

18+ 4 0 0 25 75

 

Once lipoic acid is added, we usually track mercury excretion via tests

of fecal mercury. We have noticed a large dependence of excretion on age

of patient with the younger patients excreting much more mercury than

the older patients. We think this difference in rapidity of excretion

may explain the differences in response between the various age groups.

 

We have 6 patients, all 1 to 2 years of age who are finished with

treatment by measurements of urinary and fecal mercury excretion. These

6 patients are " normal " by parent reports and repeat psychological

testing. We have no children over the age of 2 who are finished with

treatment. The rapidity of excretion seems to decrease markedly with

each additional year of age. There are several children, mostly in the

younger age groups, who have made remarkable progress to the point of

being able to be mainstreamed in school, but who are still have some

" oddities " of behavior — none of these children have completed treatment

yet.

 

These are very early results, but appear very promising. As more data is

gathered, outcomes will be better able to be predicted, including length

of treatment as well as ultimate prognosis.

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

 

 

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Bibliography:

 

The bibliography for this article is now available. Due to its length,

please find it now, in its entirety, here. It will open in a new window.

Thanks for you patience in this matter.

 

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

Additional Resources:

 

Metal-Metabolism and Autism, by Amy Holmes, M.D.

 

 

Heavy Metal Detoxification and Metallothionein Promotion, by Amy Holmes,

M.D.

 

 

Detoxification for Heavy Metals as a Treatment for Autism, by Lewis

Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D.

 

 

Discussions and new information on this topic are ongoing on our Autism

Web-Forum

 

 

Articles by Bill Walsh and other important information from the Health

Research Institute and Pfeiffer Treatment Center website

 

 

All About Vaccines and Childhood Immunizations: In this new very

comprehensive and extensive section on vaccines we will continually

update you in a balanced manner regarding the many new studies and

controversies regarding vaccinations and the possible risks involved,

especially concerning developmental delays and neurometabolic disorders

in children. We discuss and review the theories and data surrounding

vaccine complications, vaccine-induced neuropathies, public policy

concerns, the mercury and thimerosal controversy, autoimmunity, and the

possible realtionship between vaccinations and autism spectrum

disorders.

 

 

The Autism Biomedical Discussion Group has been created for the

discussion of research and biomedical interventionsas they apply to the

investigation and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders. Topics of

discussion include immunology, endocrinology, gastrointestinal issues,

allergies, metabolic and mitochondrial issues, exposure to neurotoxins,

vaccine injury, dietary and nutritional protocols, medications, and

other areas pertinent to diagnostics and treatment protocols for

individuals with autism.

 

[ Return to " Quick-Index " for Chelation of Mercury for the Treatment of

Autism ]

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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