No Evidence Chelation Therapy Can Treat Autism
Some children with autism have been subjected to chelation therapy, which is used to remove heavy metals from the blood after poisoning. The rationale for using this therapy in autism was the discredited theory that autism resulted from mercury poisoning. A recent review of research on chelation therapy for autism by the Cochrane Collaboration, a nonprofit health research organization, found only one randomized controlled trial of chelation therapy, which had a flawed methodology and also found no evidence of a reduction in autism symptoms. This means there is no evidence that chelation therapy, which can lead to kidney failure or death, has any effect on autism symptoms. Based on the lack of evidence that the therapy has benefits for children with autism spectrum disorders, its great expense, and the dangers it poses, chelation therapy should not be prescribed as a treatment for autism.
