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-----Original Message-----
From: george
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2003 12:01 PM
Subject:
Hi karl.
I just singed up for your newsletter. I have a question.
My doctor told me that DMSA can bring mercury into the brain.
I currently have 18 amalgams in my mouth that I hope to have replaced as soon as I can afford it.
I am very symptomatic of mercury toxicity.
Do you know if an EDTA challenge is worthwhile to do to show mercury levels in urine or stool tests?
A lawyer I met at a recent DAMS meeting (amalgam.org) told me NOT to get a DMSA mercury challenge-it took him 3 years to recover from it!
They gave him 700mg of DMSA. I was ready to do a DMSA challenge when my main doctor, Dr. Zeive, advised me to wait. He was going to look into the EDTA as a possible challenge.
I would appreciate your advice about all this.
Thanks,
George
Dear George,
I have parts of the answer for you scattered in several different places on my 20 different web sites. Generally I remember where this data is, but it is not easy for the public to find. Now that I am up to some 95,000 pages, on 20 web sites, with 10,000 visitors per day (May 2003), I have to find new and better ways to help people find data. My internal Google search feature is a powerful tool, but many don't yet appreciate how they can find data by use of it.
Your question is one that has come up often, and which I have answered either at great length or in short replies -- many times.
So, I'm glad to get this question. I'm making it a major writing project here so that others can find all this data in one place.
First, there is the general rule that "heavy" metals are harmful in the body. While that datum seems almost universally accepted as true, I've not heard much explanation elsewhere as to WHY these metals are harmful.
I am not the first to explain the link between heavy metals and heart disease or cancer, and not even the first to explain the link between heavy metals and free radicals. But, I have probably popularized this data in a way never done before.
Click here for a vital "primer" on free radicals if you have any doubt about what they are.
I suggest that various metals, including mercury, lead and others, are ONLY dangerous because they cause a multiplication of free radicals. This is covered in many places on my web sites.
One excellent resource on this is Dr. Elmer
Cranton. I view him as the foremost Intravenous Chelation Doctor in
practice. I have many pages about him, and making references to his books
and writings. He and I disagree on some important issues, but he has
always been far advanced in his thinking over the thousands of other IV doctors
who practice
chelation.
It is Doctor Cranton who wrote THE textbook on IV chelation therapy. Earlier it had been Dr. Garry F. Gordon who was more instrumental in establishing the group of IV chelation doctors and who wrote the protocols for chelation therapy. Since Dr. Gordon abandoned IV chelation in favor of oral chelation, Dr. Cranton is clearly head and shoulders above other IV chelation doctors in his status.
His text book on this subject is on the right of the page.
Click on that image to go to the page that describes this Book. On that page you'll also find a reference to another page where I have one entire Chapter from this text book.
That Chapter is here. It is a bit technical, but it is, I think, the single best resource for understanding what IV Chelation really is and why it works. It is in this Chapter that I have interspersed many of my own comments -- comments that in part add additional data or even where I disagree with Dr. Cranton on some point he has made.
Here is a section from that page -- including some of Dr. Cranton's original text and also including some comments I have made and which are also on that page.
Dr. Cranton's text is in black -- my comments are in blue.
EDTA'S ONLY ACTION IS TO ALTER DISTRIBUTION
OF METALS IN THE BODY
Intravenous EDTA enters and exits the body very rapidly. In
less than one hour, half has been excreted in the urine unchanged except for
metal ions it attracts enroute. Half-life in the body with normal renal function
is approximately 45 minutes.
[Note: Whenever an atom has fewer electrons than protons, it's called an ion. Click for Karl Loren References and Definitions.]
EDTA does not otherwise enter chemically into metabolic
pathways. The EDTA molecule is not degraded or altered. Its only action in the
body is to rapidly and reversibly attract, chelate and redistribute metal ions,
or remove them from the body. When EDTA binds a specific metal, and subsequently
encounters another ligand (a metalloenzyme, for example) with stronger affinity,
that metal ion is dropped and another is substituted. In that way a shuffling
and redistribution may occur without actual removal from the body. To be
plausible, a scientific rationale for mechanism of action must be based on that
type of activity, and must also explain why full benefit does not occur for
several months after therapy.
[Karl Note:
[Karl Note: EDTA is a very powerful chelator. However there are other chelating substances including Cysteine and N Acetyl Cysteine. These bind to metals in a different way than does EDTA. For instance, you'll find, below, that EDTA does not remove mercury from the body because the "bindings" which are already attached to mercury are too strong to allow the EDTA to "chelate" it. However, Cysteine has the peculiar property of 'Unbinding" mercury from its location -- usually the mercury is stuck "like a sliver" into some tissue within the body. Cysteine "unsticks" (the technical term is "unbinds") the small piece (it could be a few molecules -- these are small items!) of mercury and then continues to chelate it -- meaning to carry it out of the body. Since Cysteine is a natural amino acid, found in food, it does NOT leave the body as rapidly as does EDTA, but once it is connected to metal, it does leave, and thus a chelation formula that includes several different chelating substances is inherently better than a chelation process that relies on only one substance -- EDTA.
Note also that Dr. Cranton is one of the foremost "authorities" on the web who claims that when EDTA is taken orally it is useless (even harmful) as a chelating substance. I, Karl Loren, strongly disagree with this. Click here to read Dr. Cranton's explanation of why "oral EDTA" is not a valid treatment option. Click here for the truth of the matter.
Dr. Garry F. Gordon agrees with me that oral EDTA is at least as effective as IV EDTA, and when the IV Chelation group refused to allow him to submit his proof of this, he quit that group, and eventually also quit doing IV chelation therapy in favor of developing his own formula of oral chelation.]
Dr. Cranton, and other IV chelation doctors, claim that their EDTA does not remove mercury from the body. In fact, here is the exact list of metals which, according to Dr. Cranton, are removed with IV chelation therapy.
In his textbook Dr. Cranton presents the ORDER in which metals are attracted to and bind to EDTA.
The affinity of EDTA to
bind various metals at physiologic pH, in order of decreasing stability, is
listed below. In the presence of a more tightly bound metal, EDTA releases
metals lower in the series and binds to the metal for which it has a greater
affinity.(273) Calcium is near the bottom of the list.
[Karl: The "+" signs indicate the electrical charge on the substance, and show that only "charged" particles of metals are chelated -- likewise, only the charged forms of metals are harmful.]
Chromium 2+
Iron 3+
Mercury 2+
Copper 2+
Lead 2+
Zinc 2+
Cadmium 2+
Cobalt 2+
Aluminum 3+
Iron 2+
Manganese 2+
Calcium 2+
Magnesium 2+
So, in terms of the original question, we see immediately that Dr. Cranton is making conflicting statements. He says, in one place, that EDTA will not chelate mercury, but in another place (probably taken from the manufacturer's technical manual) that EDTA DOES remove mercury.
The problem has been that Dr. Cranton seems to be basing his chelation measurements ONLY by testing the urine for these metals. This is a very valid and simple test, but there is another test for mercury.
Here is another excerpt from Dr. Cranton's Text Book.
In my opinion, DMPS is obsolete no longer has a place in medicine. I have communicated with many patients who received DMPS elsewhere and were made quite sick by it. Even if DMPS is used, it can effectively be given by mouth without intravenous infusions. EDTA is a very weak chelator of mercury and is not an effective treatment for mercury toxicity. I recommend DMSA, which can be given by mouth, is safer, more effective, and much less expensive.
[Karl Note: Note that one researcher claims that EDTA WILL chelate mercury, but that the mercury shows us in the feces, not the urine.]
DMSA removes mercury (and also lead) from the brain almost 3 times more effectively than DMPS (see research report below). And DMPS is 3 times more toxic than DMSA (based on LD50). The brain is where most toxicity occurs. DMSA is so safe that the FDA approves its use in small children with lead toxicity. DMPS is not approved by the FDA for any use.
There are rumors that EDTA or DMSA can cause mercury to enter the brain. That is totally false. Those chelators bind tightly and inertly to metals and remove them from the body in the urine.
Dr. Cranton makes the generalized statement that EDTA (and DMSA) remove "metals" from the body and into the urine.
He misses the simple possibility that mercury may be found in the feces, not not the urine.
In the past few years the doctors who did IV chelation therapy were unhappy with the profit margins of their services -- unfortunately for them a rather common cost has developed for IV chelation. These treatments cost about $100 each.
If some doctor tried to charge $300 for HIS treatments, he would not get many patients. These doctors also realized that oral chelation "worked" but they had no interest in entering into such a field -- where profit margins would still be low.
Mostly as a means of increasing their profit margins some of these doctors decided to put EDTA into a suppository and sell those as an alternative to IV chelation. They have toyed around with making this new product into a prescription item, to reduce the competition if any vitamin company could market it. That's where they are now -- selling EDTA suppositories as prescription items, and finally making a very large profit.
They had to make some false claims along the way -- that EDTA taken in the mouth was not effective, while taken as a suppository it was effective. The falsity of this claim is easily proven since oral EDTA was widely in use before IV Chelation was invented, and was the standard, PDR approved method of removing lead from the body.
Be that as it may, the suppository people did their research and found mercury in the feces when their product was used.
Here is another excerpt from one of my pages.
Many physicians do not realize that EDTA is a method for reducing somatic mercury. Many physicians are looking at the heavy metals excreted by the kidneys through EDTA IV chelation and do not find mercury being excreted in the urine. These physicians then wrongly assume that EDTA is not a good chelator of mercury. In fact, EDTA has a greater affinity for mercury than copper, lead, zinc, in that order.
The excretion route of mercury is though the large intestine. Traditionally, to detoxify mercury many physicians will use DMSA because it is an oral drug. Therefore, it was logical to look for the mercury in feces because that drug was working through the gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract. Very few physicians were looking at chelated heavy metals in feces with a drug that works through the blood/kidney/urine route.
Second, of the physicians that did look for mercury in their patients' feces and did not find much excreted mercury, it is probably because they did not check the third bowel movement. After IV EDTA treatment mercury will not present after the next bowel movement, but will present after the third bowel movement.
Now we have most of the story.
You do NOT need a challenge test for mercury, or for that matter, any metal.
The procedure is very simple.
Since you should now realize that mercury is going to appear in the feces, not the urine, you must get a test for metals, including any specific test for mercury, in the urine and in the feces -- get this test BEFORE you start taking oral chelation.
Then, after about three or four days, take the same exact tests again. If the oral chelation is working you will find a very large increase in various metals in both the urine and in the feces.
The challenge tests cost more and can be more dangerous than the simple and practical test of actual use of a simple oral chelation formula -- Life Glow Plus.
Now, there may well be doctors who are basically looking to protect their turf -- doctors who say that the oral EDTA will move some of the metals out of the body -- fair enough -- but that some other parts of the metal movement will be INTO the brain.
They scoff at chelation of any type and say that it is more harmful to move even a little mercury INTO the brain than it is helpful to move larger amounts OUT of the body.
Now we get into another area -- something called "osmotic pressure." WoW! Well, take your time and read about what that is.
Click here for many studies I have published on my web site about something called the "blood brain barrier."
Years ago it was believed that there was a barrier between the brain and the rest of the body, and that nothing that came into the body, into the blood, could cross that barrier and enter the brain. There was a similar belief that a growing fetus was somehow protected from any toxins in the mother's body -- the baby would not get those toxins.
That was found to be false. Many is the heroine addicted baby who has been born to a heroine addicted mother!
So, some substances can, indeed, cross through this protective barrier between the brain and the rest of the body.
The link just above provides more links to many other pages on this subject. They are all well-worth reading for further information on this important subject.
Here is the summary of that information from that page.
There is no question that chelation therapy removes lead from the body. That is so well established that even the traditional medical establishment accepts that without question.
But there has been some debate in these circles, for many years, as to whether the chelation process might not cause some toxic metals, such as lead, to be deposited into the brain tissues. It would be a matter of the metals crossing the "blood brain barrier" as a result of the lead being combined with the chelating substance.
In other words, lead in the body, while generally always harmful, would be even more harmful if it were to pass through the blood brain barrier, into the brain. There is a "layer" of special cells that surround the brain, creating a barrier so that the contents of the blood stream cannot get through this barrier and enter the brain. Generally the brain would be much more badly affected than other parts of the body if there were an increased amount of lead in the brain.
The blood brain barrier does not stop everything, but it does stop most things from getting through to the brain.
When the chelating substances (such as
Cysteine, or EDTA or N Acetyl Cysteine) "bind" to a metal, such as lead, it is
clear that this combination is then eliminated through the kidneys, into the
urine. Tests for metals in the urine show dramatic increase when chelation
starts.
Critics of chelation therapy, however, are looking for anything they can find to get it removed from medical practice. Why? Because chelation therapy does so much good for the body that many other medical practices (such as bypass) and medical drugs would lose market share! Thus, traditional medicine would be very pleased to be able to show that chelation causes metals, including lead, to cross through the blood brain barrier, into the brain. They would like to claim that this happens even though they admit that the chelation process DOES remove metal from the body through the urine.
In this context, it is important, then, to understand HOW you could measure whether or not metals do cross the blood brain barrier during the chelation process -- if it is true at all. That is the purpose of this page -- to introduce you to this concept and provide links to many scientific studies on the blood brain barrier as it relates to chelation therapy.
There is good evidence that EDTA, taking orally, will remove mercury from the brain, through the body, through the stomach and/or intestinal wall, into the EDTA, and thus out:
Based on the chemical laws of isotonicity, (equal osmotic pressure in a liquid solution), free heavy metal ions are pulled from the body into the stomach/ intestinal tract and excreted. Therefore oral EDTA enhances the electro-magnetic phenomenon by achieving a high concentration gradient that overcomes the blood-brain barrier and the mercury ions are excreted from the brain. (Source)
In more simple language the above paragraph simply says that where you have a certain amount of substance (such as mercury) in one place (the body) and there is a "barrier" between that place (the body) and another place (the brain) that the concentration of that substance will tend to be the same in both places if the barrier is permeable to that substance. If you remove mercury from the body, the concentration becomes LESS in the body than it is in the brain. This will cause a flow of this substance from the area of high concentration into the area of low concentration. Thus, removal of metals from the body, by any process, will tend to reduce those same metals from the brain if they can pass through the barrier.
Some items CAN pass through this barrier, such as mercury, but the movement would always be OUT of the brain when mercury is being removed from the body.
Here is another good reference:
DMSA is an excellent chelator of most heavy metals including mercury. When used appropriately, it is safe and effective. DMSA has survived the testing necessary for FDA approval for use in children. This means it has been tested in children and was found to be both safe and effective. Despite the FDA’s poor record in testing and approving vaccines, the procedures for testing and approval of drugs are quite rigorous.
The only approved use for DMSA is for the treatment of lead poisoning in children. Fortunately, DMSA is not very selective about which heavy metal it chelates, and binds to mercury quite readily. Despite claims of DMSA’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it is doubtful that it really does so. The study cited most often as proving DMSA’s ability to cross the BBB was done in rats. Rats are known to not have a good BBB. DMSA is water-soluble and not very lipid-soluble. This characteristic alone raises some doubts about its true ability to cross the BBB. (Source)
The final answer, then, is that you should not worry about mercury being deposited in the brain because of any type of chelation. And, even more pertinent, there is NO need to go through some fancy challenge test for mercury.
You have silver fillings in your teeth now. You have, therefore, mercury in your body. It never leaves without chelation.
You are about to have the fillings removed. The very process of removal will stir up the mercury and it will be absorbed through the tissues in your mouth, causing a INCREASE in osmotic pressure in your body. So, hurry up and start chelating NOW. Don't wait for some fancy test. Get the fillings removed gradually -- not all at once (I'm not a dentist, perhaps they have other data?).
You can actually AID the process by taking the Life Glow Basic, capsules, pull apart the capsule and spread the contents in your mouth just minutes before the dental procedure, during it, and after, and don't swallow the stuff -- spit it out. The EDTA and NAC, in powder form, in and around your teeth and mouth tissues will attract the mercury right there in your mouth and it will not have a chance to enter your body. Obviously you would then spit out this saliva mixed with the EDTA and NAC bound to mercury.
It will take a dentist who understands this concept to help in making it possible for you to apply the powder to these areas and to spit as often as needed. Probably the normal "sucker" they stick in your mouth is adequate -- you won't have to spit. But, be sure the dentist is familiar with what is going on.
I guess it is not called a "sucker" but that's what it does -- it sucks out the excessive saliva and water that builds up in the mouth during a dental procedure.
Well, what do you think?
Karl Loren
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