Aspies For Freedom

Lead-removal drug linked to 2 deaths

By Mike Stobbe
Associated Press
6th March 2006

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 this past week.
  
One youngster 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.

Mary Jean 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 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.

Since at least 1978, federal health officials have warned against giving it to children with lead poisoning.

If the authorities are advising against using this drug to treat lead poisoning in children, then the drug must be very dangerous or risky to use, as lead poisoning in children is a very serious problem. I believe there is sound scientific evidence that lead poisoning can impair the intellectual development of children to a significant degree, so if the authorities don't believe the risks of using the "treatment" are less than the risks of leaving the child untreated, the "treatment" must be very risky indeed.

Lili, your posts illustrates best what we'll call "the myth of the authorities."

According to "the authorities" I have an IQ of "about 70" and so am "sub-normal."

But in our little world of AFF at least, I am able to hold my own.

Would "the authorities" do as well, I wonder?

There is something called "the fallacy of arguing from authority" or someting like that, but as far as i can figure, it is only a fallacy if the authority or authorities cited aren't that authoritative. A scientific argument that makes reference to the American Association for the Advancement of Science might be more watertight than one that makes reference to the local homeopath.