Associated Press in USA Today:

Spurred by the demands of desperate parents, the head of the National Institute of Mental Health says he supports testing an unproven process on children with autism provided that the tests are safe. Dr. Thomas Insel told the AP that a proposed study has not proceeded because of safety concerns.

Chelation, a process to remove heavy metals from the body, is used to treat lead poisoning but has not been found to be safe and effective in countering autism. Despite the lack of evidence and at least one death, it is estimated that parents are presently subjecting several thousands of children to chelation for autism.

Scientists have said they regard further testing of chelation on children as unethical. Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, called on federal research agencies to “bring reason to science” without “catering to a public misperception.”

“Science has been trumped by politics in some ways,” he said.

Related posts:

• Doctors alarmed by availability of OTC chelation agents
• Charges dropped in chelation death of boy with autism

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 7:56 am and is filed under autism, controversial procedures, research news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.