Public Health Service Assessment of EDTA Chelation Therapy for Atherosclerosis, 1981
Chelation is the formation of a bond between a metal ion and two or more polar groupings of a single molecule (Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 1966). Chelation is a fundamental process used by living organisms for utilizing inorganic metals. For example, chlorophyll, hemoglobin, and many important enzymes are chelates. Chelation is also used widely in a variety of industrial applications (Halstead, 1979). Chelation therapy is the application of chelation techniques for the therapeutic and/or preventive effects of removing unwanted metal ions from the body. Chelation is used to treat lead intoxication and iron overload and many drugs (for example, some antibiotics) are chelators. The application of chelation therapy under consideration in this assessment, is ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) chelation for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis …
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