Aspies For Freedom

Death of 5-year-old boy linked to controversial chelation therapy
Friday, January 06, 2006

By Karen Kane
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 5-year-old autistic boy who went into cardiac arrest in his doctor's office died as a result of the controversial chelation therapy he was receiving as a treatment for his autism.

The manner of death of Abubakar Tariq Nadama, of Monroeville, has been listed as accidental while the investigation continues.

The findings released by the Butler County coroner's office don't say whether the treatment itself is dangerous or the child died from the way the treatment was administered.

In layman's terms, the administration of ethylene diamine tetra-acetate, commonly known as chelation, resulted in a lack of oxygen to the brain as well as irreversible heart damage, said Allegheny County Deputy Coroner Ed Strimlan.

The Allegheny County morgue conducted the autopsy on the child at the request of Butler County Coroner Bill Young.

"We determined there's a direct correlation between the EDTA and the lack of oxygen to the brain and the heart muscle damage. It's a total package, based on the autopsy, the histology [tissue sampling] and the toxicology [blood sampling]," Mr. Strimlan said.

The determination is sure to spark debate among parents, many of whom support chelation as a safe and effective therapy for autism. Others condemn the treatment as voodoo medicine.

The autopsy report indicates the manner of death was accidental. The other categories are natural, suicide and homicide.

Mr. Young said he said he soon will meet with Butler County District Attorney Randa Clark and Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Ray Melder, of the Butler barracks, to discuss whether a coroner's inquest should be scheduled. He said the determination that the death was accidental could change, depending on what additional information is gleaned from an inquest, if one is held.

The Nigerian boy was brought to the United States from England last spring by his mother, Marwa, specifically for chelation therapy. Chelation is most often used in treatment of lead poisoning.

During an Aug. 23 procedure in the Portersville, Butler County, office of Dr. Roy Eugene Kerry, Tariq went into cardiac arrest.

He had been receiving an intravenous injection of EDTA, a synthetic amino acid that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat heavy metal poisoning. EDTA latches onto heavy metals in the bloodstream so they can be excreted in the urine.

Within autism advocacy circles, chelation talk has been escalating as proponents report improvements in autistic children who have undergone the treatment. Though conventional medicine considers autism a neurological disorder, others believe it is a treatable condition linked to intolerable levels of metals in the bloodstream.

(Karen Kane can be reached at kkane@post-gazette.com or 724-772-9180.)

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06006/633541.stm

As far as I am concerned, this is a homocidal death. None of this so-called treatment has passed muster with any medical board, and if a normie child died this way, the prosecutor would be working overtime.

Stella posted "A 5-year-old autistic boy who went into cardiac arrest in his doctor's office died as a result of the controversial chelation therapy he was receiving as a treatment for his autism."

There were a few people who, when this story first came out, said that we shouldnt make a fuss about it, or have a petition until official findings said that it was directly caused by the chelation.

If we had waited months to comment on what was obvious, less parents would have heard about the dangers and more children could have been harmed in the interim.

If we have strong reason to suspect the safety of something, it is far better to air those concerns rather than to wait for permission from authorities.

"We determined there's a direct correlation between the EDTA and the lack of oxygen to the brain and the heart muscle damage. It's a total package, based on the autopsy, the histology [tissue sampling] and the toxicology [blood sampling]," Mr. Strimlan said.

This (above) is what we have been waiting for.

I'm pleased that they have determined a causal link. Delighted. I too hope there is 'hell to pay' We will see.

Follow-up:

Parents of dead autistic boy ask for privacy, attorney says
1/6/2006, 8:35 a.m. ET
The Associated Press   

MONROEVILLE, Pa. (AP) — An autistic boy died as a result of a controversial treatment known as chelation, a coroner ruled, but it wasn't clear whether an inquest will be held to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

Abubakar Nadama, 5, of Monroeville, went into cardiac arrest in his doctor's office in Portersville, Butler County, after the intravenous chelation therapy Aug. 23.

Chelation therapy involves injecting a synthetic amino acid called EDTA into the body, which is supposed to clean out heavy metals from the bloodstream so they can be dispelled through urine. The FDA has approved chelation for treatment of lead and heavy metal poisoning, but not to treat autism — which some parents and doctors believe is caused by heavy metals — because it is considered risky.

Ed Strimian, a deputy coroner Allegheny County who performed the autopsy for Butler County Coroner William Young, said toxicology tests confirmed the treatment killed the boy.

"We determined there's a direct correlation between the EDTA and the lack of oxygen to the brain and the heart and muscle damage," Strimian told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for Friday's editions.

Nobody has been charged in the boy's death. Rufia and Mawra Nadama, the boy's parents are from Nigeria but moved to England 10 years ago. Mawra Nadama and her son then moved to the Pittsburgh suburb of Monroeville last spring few months ago so the boy could receive the chelation treatment, the couple's attorney, Frank Botta has said.

The Nadamas do not have a telephone listed in their name. Botta didn't immediately return a call for comment Friday.

Young said he plans to meet soon with District Attorney Randa Clark and the state police to determine if an inquest is warranted. For now, Young is classifying the death as an accident, but said that could change if more information is uncovered through the inquest or other investigation.

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/ind...ylist=penn

Death raises debate

By Brandon Keat
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 7, 2006

A new ruling that a controversial drug therapy for autistic children was responsible for the death of a 5-year-old Monroeville boy is likely to intensify debates about the treatment's safety and effectiveness.
The Butler County Coroner's Office ruled that Abubakar Nadama suffered cardiac arrest because of an injection of EDTA, a chelation therapy drug administered to him in October by Dr. Roy E. Kerry at the Advanced Integrative Medicine Center in Portersville.

Chelation treatment is designed to rid the body of heavy metals. Therapy supporters believe autism can be caused by heavy metal toxicity, particularly from mercury once used in a preservative in childhood vaccinations.

That assertion has been refuted scientifically, said Dr. Scott Myers, an autism expert who specializes in neurodevelopmental pediatrics at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Montour County. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved chelation for treatment of heavy metal poisoning, but not to treat autism.





"The people who don't believe in bio-medical approaches are going to say the kid was murdered, that the doctor should have his license revoked," said Cindy Waeltermann, founder and director of the Pittsburgh-based national support group AutismLink. "And the people that do believe in it are going to say it's one isolated case, this doesn't prove anything."

The Butler County District Attorney's Office said a coroner's inquest will be scheduled to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

Nadama's family could not be reached for comment. Kerry declined to comment.

Allegheny County Deputy Coroner Ed Strimian, who performed the autopsy on Nadama, said there is a direct correlation between the EDTA and the lack of oxygen to the brain and the heart muscle damage.

Myers said it is the first case he knows of in which chelation was directly linked to the death of an autistic person. He hopes Nadama's death and the coroner's ruling will serve as a warning.

"These are big stakes. This should have an impact," Myers said. "It should send a message to physicians who are prescribing this type of treatment that something like this can happen."

Some supporters of the treatment aren't phased by the coroner's ruling.

Marla Green, of Lower Burrell, said her autistic son John has been taking a "natural" oral spray form of chelation therapy for two years.

"We're still comfortable with what we're doing," she said. "We're under strict doctor's care and we follow up and test him and check him."

Dan Hollenbeck, of Pine, said his autistic son benefitted significantly from chelation therapy, and, "The other parents in the community who have tried chelation reported very positive results."

"One child dying from chelation therapy is very unfortunate, but medical treatments are inherently risky," he said. "It will remain a popular therapy."

Though she is unconvinced as to the safety and usefulness of chelation therapy, Waeltermann said parents are drawn to it by testimonials from people who say their children have been helped or even cured by it.

"I don't think parents should be beat up for wanting the best for their kids," she said. "When you see something that offers some hope and somebody's telling you 'I've done it and it works,' you want to try it."

Brandon Keat can be reached at bkeat@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7113.

Source:
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-revi...11262.html