The Meaning of Chelation

Chelation therapy has been used in the United States since World War II, when it was administered to people suffering arsenic poisoning. Since the 1960s, it's also been proposed as a treatment for atherosclerosis, or fatty buildup of plaque in the arteries, says Dr. Pete Bowden of Creighton University in Nebraska. The goal of chelation therapy is removing harmful substances from your body via a chelating agent that forms a complex with the substances. Your body is able to remove this complex through its natural waste product removal mechanisms.

Benefits

Chelation therapy is used for treating heavy metal poisoning, according to the American Cancer Society, or ACS. The most common form of chelation therapy involves injecting ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, or EDTA, into your veins. EDTA is a man-made chemical that chelates, or binds, heavy metals. These include lead, iron, cadmium, zinc and mercury. The word "chelation" is derived from the Greek word chele, which means claw. This refers to the way that EDTA grabs onto metals, note the experts at ACS. Chelation therapy is considered safe and effective for treating heavy metal poisoning, says Bowden.

Potential

The most popular alternative use for chelation therapy is for atherosclerotic diseases, including coronary artery disease, according to Creighton University. In addition to binding heavy metals, EDTA also seeks out and binds calcium. Calcium is one of the components in atherosclerotic plaque, the substance that clogs your arteries, according to the American Heart Association, or AHA. This led in the 1960s to speculation that EDTA could help in coronary artery disease by removing calcium deposits from the buildups in your arteries. In theory, once calcium is removed via regular EDTA treatments, the remaining elements in the plaque will break up, leading the plaque to clear

Features

Chelation therapy treatments used for cardiovascular disease often include several other components such as vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, magnesium sulfate, minerals and heparin in addition to intravenous administration of EDTA, notes Bowden.

Expert Insight

As of 2010, scientific evidence did not support using chelation to treat cardiovascular diseases, according to the experts at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, of NCCAM. In fact, a randomized controlled trial by M.L. Knudtson and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no evidence to support a beneficial effect from chelation therapy.

Overall, scientific evidence for this therapy is both limited and conflicting, according to J.S. Shrihari, lead author for an analysis published in The National Medical Journal of India. D.M. Seely, lead author for an analysis published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, says chelation therapy may cause more harm than good when used in lieu of proven therapy. The treatment should be considered "obsolete," asserts E. Ernst, who wrote a review for the American Heart Journal based on an overview of clinical investigations.

Warning

Chelation therapy can be toxic, according to ACS. It has the potential to cause irregular heartbeat, kidney damage and death. EDTA also can lead to shock, convulsions, bone marrow depression, low blood pressure, allergic-type reactions and respiratory arrest, note the experts at AHA. Some people are on dialysis due to kidney failure caused by chelation therapy. Also, a number of deaths in the United States are linked to chelation therapy, say the experts at AHA. Less severe side effects can include a burning sensation where the EDTA is administered into the vein. Other side effects may include headache, fever, vomiting or nausea, according to NCCAM.