CDC links at least two deaths to lead-removal treatment

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CDC links at least two deaths to lead-removal treatment

MIKE STOBBE

Associated Press

ATLANTA - A drug that is sometimes used to treat lead poisoning - and is

also believed by some parents to be effective against autism - caused the

deaths of two children last year, the government said Thursday.

One youngster was from Pennsylvania and was autistic; the other had lead

poisoning.

The deaths mark the first documented link between a chelation drug and

cardiac arrest in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Both children were treated with a product called Endrate.

CDC officials are also looking into the 2003 death of a 53-year-old woman in

Oregon who was given chelation therapy by a practitioner of natural

medicine.

Brown, chief of the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, said

hospital pharmacies should consider whether stocking Endrate is necessary,

given its risks and the availability of other treatments.

The maker of Endrate, Hospira Inc., had no immediate comment.

Chelating agents are chemical compounds, injected or given orally, that

latch on to metals in the body and carry them out through urine or feces.

Chelation is commonly used for lead poisoning.

Some doctors have used chelation to treat autism, believing mercury or other

heavy metals cause the condition's symptoms. However, medical evidence does

not support that belief, and the drug is not approved for that use, CDC

officials said.

Endrate is approved for treating certain heart rhythm disturbances and high

concentrations of calcium triggered by a bone cancer.

Since at least 1978, federal health officials have warned against giving it

to children with lead poisoning. Endrate's calcium-removing abilities can

dangerously disrupt the body's chemistry, Brown said.

In August, a 5-year-old boy with autism died in Portersville, Pa., while

receiving an infusion of Endrate in a physician's office. A coroner later

ruled that the treatment killed the boy.

In February 2005, a 2-year-old girl with lead poisoning was treated with

three chelating agents - one of them Endrate - and died at a hospital hours

later from what an autopsy

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Subject: CDC links at least two deaths to lead-removal treatment

CDC links at least two deaths to lead-removal treatment

MIKE STOBBE

Associated Press

ATLANTA - A drug that is sometimes used to treat lead poisoning - and is

also believed by some parents to be effective against autism - caused the

deaths of two children last year, the government said Thursday.

One youngster was from Pennsylvania and was autistic; the other had lead

poisoning.

The deaths mark the first documented link between a chelation drug and

cardiac arrest in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Both children were treated with a product called Endrate.

CDC officials are also looking into the 2003 death of a 53-year-old woman in

Oregon who was given chelation therapy by a practitioner of natural

medicine.

Brown, chief of the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, said

hospital pharmacies should consider whether stocking Endrate is necessary,

given its risks and the availability of other treatments.

The maker of Endrate, Hospira Inc., had no immediate comment.

Chelating agents are chemical compounds, injected or given orally, that

latch on to metals in the body and carry them out through urine or feces.

Chelation is commonly used for lead poisoning.

Some doctors have used chelation to treat autism, believing mercury or other

heavy metals cause the condition's symptoms. However, medical evidence does

not support that belief, and the drug is not approved for that use, CDC

officials said.

Endrate is approved for treating certain heart rhythm disturbances and high

concentrations of calcium triggered by a bone cancer.

Since at least 1978, federal health officials have warned against giving it

to children with lead poisoning. Endrate's calcium-removing abilities can

dangerously disrupt the body's chemistry, Brown said.

In August, a 5-year-old boy with autism died in Portersville, Pa., while

receiving an infusion of Endrate in a physician's office. A coroner later

ruled that the treatment killed the boy.

In February 2005, a 2-year-old girl with lead poisoning was treated with

three chelating agents - one of them Endrate - and died at a hospital hours

later from what an autopsy

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