US NIMH drops controversial study of chelation therapy for children with autism

The US National Institute of Mental Health drops a controversial study of chelation therapy for children with autism. The agency says there are better uses for its resources.

Nature reports that the study was first proposed in 2006, but that it was referred for ethics review after a publication in 2007 had reported that chelating agents can cause cognitive problems in rats. Critics of the study had argued that it would expose children with autism to a risky procedure which would not give them any medical benefits. The reason for this study was that many people who have children with autism take their children to alternologists who are peddling chelation therapies they claim will undo the damage done to the brains of these children by mercury in vaccines. The vaccine-autism link has been debunked years ago, but people who are desperate enough will believe anything, and will happily part with their money for some "hope". Because the practice of chelation, especially with DMSA, for the treatment of autism is so wide-spread, in spite of the fact that this has never been tested in a controlled study and in spite of the absence of proof that it helps children with the disorder, the NIMH decided to conduct a chelation study to see if there would be any benefits to it. This study has now been cancelled because a review shows that DMSA exposes children to too much risk.