: In article <32d4ls$…@nic.umass.edu>, dwhee…@twain.ucs.umass.edu (Diane

: M Wheeler) writes:

: Diane: Are we talking about the same type of Chelation Therapy?  What I
: was referring to is done through  IV injections, with each session taking
: abou an hour and a half (but it’s also good for chloresterol).  If what
: you’re talking about is a different type of procedure I would be very
: interested in hearing about it.
:          John R in MI

Yes we are talking about the same.

M Wheeler) writes:

Diane: Are we talking about the same type of Chelation Therapy?  What I
was referring to is done through  IV injections, with each session taking
abou an hour and a half (but it’s also good for chloresterol).  If what
you’re talking about is a different type of procedure I would be very
interested in hearing about it.
         John R in MI

(John Badanes) writes:

   The previous technical response is what pro-chelation people are
constantly faced with.  It is so very easy to start slinging out jargon,
so very easy.  A good book to read would be FORTY-SOMETHING FOREVER, A
Consumer’s Guide to Chelation Therapy, by Harold & Arline Brecher (she’s
also co-author of another good book, BYPASSING BYPASS.
   The things the previous letter mentioned are addressed in the FOREVER
book, in layman’s language no less!

You know that chelating agents like EDTA are those that can be used
to bind metal ions through more than one ligand atom….ie. they
are multidentate. These form more stable stable metal complexes than
say cyanide which is monodentate eg. [N*C-Ag-C*N]-  where * is a triple
bond. Others, like DCTA and EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetracetic acid), can
"bite" a metal ion, complexing it with six ligands.

I’m hardly an expert in the medical applications of chelating agents
(I’m a chiropractor dontcha know), but I do know that EDTA is used
successfully for lead poisoning and desferrioxamine B (isolated from
bacteria) is a chelating drug used to help the body excrete excess
iron in patients with beta-thalassemia who accumulate 4-8 grams of
iron per year from the hemoglobin of transfused cells.

On the ‘fringe’ circuit, EDTA has been used with the idea that it
could leach Calcium metal from arterial plaques and thereby treat
atherosclerosis. Forgettaboutit. Besides leaching calcium from
bones like PTH, to replenish circulating calcium I imagine, it has
disastrous effects when infused to patients with kidney disease
(since it is excreted via glomerular filtration). Your patient’s
hubby who is shelling out big bucks in Grand Forks for this treatment
and who "doesn’t look too well" may be asking for more trouble than
the atherosclerosis chelation purports to treat.

I don’t get it in any case. Even if EDTA *did* leach calcium from
plaques, it would be immediately replaced with resorbed calcium
mobilized from bones. So at *best* you would get bone loss a la hyper-
parathyroidism…and much worse if there is liver and kidney disease
present.  But you know how those Alternativists can be when they
get their "mind" set on something  :-)

JB.

: In article <jwiens.9.000C3…@mbnet.mb.ca>, jwi…@mbnet.mb.ca (John

: Wiens) writes:

: John:  It’s definitely legal, and it works!  The AMA won’t endorse the
: treatment (except for lead poisoning) and most "mainstream" doctors won’t
: say anything good about it.  I took care of a circulation problem that
: I’ve had for years (cold hands and feet, getting progressively worse); my
: former doctor told me there was nothing that could be done, that it was
: blockage in the small blood vessels of my extremities – to just wear
: gloves, hats more often.

: Do you know a diabetic with a circulation problem, that is in danger of of
: losing toes, feet, whatever to amputation?  Chelation therapy can be
: his/her answer.  I took 20 treatments (started relieving my problem after
: the 4th treatment), and plan to take four maintenance treatments each
: winter.  Check with any D.O.s in your area.  They are more into natural
: and unobtrusive treatments for problems.  Some also advocate Chelation
: Therapy as an alternataive to heart bypass.  I sat next to and talked to a
: number of people with failed bypasses and angioplasties.  I even heard of
: two people going to my doctor that their own doctors wouldn’t perform
: heart bypass because they were so bad.  And they got better!  To each his
: own, I say.  Look luck to you . . . . John R in MI

You will also find Doctors using it for people with very high
cholestorl.  I will post an address for a brochure in the next few days
as I am vacationing.  The procedure is covered by insurance and if you
are in Massachusetts, the Cambridge Clinic offers the service.  I do know
of people who learned to do it themselves at home so the cost is minimal
– under $25.00.

Diane

Thanks,

John
jwi…@mbnet.mb.ca
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*** John Wiens, DC ><>< jwi…@mbnet.mb.ca ><>< LEDG[4883]***
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