Government Scientists Discuss Studying a Controversial Autism Treatment

Here's an interesting article about chelation (pronounced kee-LAY'-shun), a controversial treatment that removes heavy metals from the body. Some parents, perhaps several thousands, are employing chelation on their autistic children, mainly as a response to the idea that mercury in vaccines caused the autism. (Scientists largely disavow this idea.) A significant number of these parents swear by the treatment, though it can have nasty side effects and has even caused at least one death. A federal scientist has proposed a study on chelation that involves administering it to a group of autistic children and comparing the results to a group that does not receive the treatment. Unsurprisingly, the study has been held up for safety concerns. Still, the head of the federal National Institute of Mental Health wants to move on it because he says parents need answers more quickly than traditional scientific research is providing. Another expert says giving children chelation is unethical, but the government can justify the study because so many parents are doing it and therefore "it's incumbent on the scientific community to evaluate it."