chelation, heavy metals, toxic pollutants, and disease

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Detoxing Chemicals and Pollutants for Optimal Health

By Jeff Morris

Are your patients toxic? The answer increasingly appears to be yes=E2=80=94and
your job, in order to maintain optimal health and reduce the incidence
of the diseases of aging, is to detoxify them. That conclusion is one
being reached by more and more anti-aging practitioners, and achieves
particular resonance with Rashid O. Buttar, D.O. of Cornelius, NC, and
Robert A. Nash, M.D. of Virginia Beach, VA.

=E2=80=9CI can now very comfortably and definitively state to you,=E2=80=9D says Dr.
Buttar, =E2=80=9Cthat, in my opinion, based on the evidence, every single
chronic insidious disease process is related to one word: toxicity. You
cannot address the issues of aging unless you address detoxification.=E2=80=9D
Dr. Buttar, board certified and a diplomat in preventive medicine and
clinical metal toxicology, and Vice-Chairman of the American Board of
Clinical Metal Toxicology, contends that he only recently arrived at
this conclusion. =E2=80=9CFive years ago I wouldn=E2=80=99t have said this, even a year
ago I wouldn=E2=80=99t have said it. But the more success we=E2=80=99ve had, the
clearer it has become: All chronic disease is toxicity. You get rid of
the toxicity and you put out the fire. You may need to rebuild
afterward, but you must put the fire out. Conventional medicine is just
covering your eyes so you don=E2=80=99t see the fire.=E2=80=9D

Dr. Nash, who is board certified in neurology, pain medicine, and
chelation therapy and is Chairman of the American Board of Clinical
Metal Toxicology, concurs, though perhaps not 100 percent. =E2=80=9CMost of the
diseases of aging=E2=80=94vascular, most cancers, arthritis and others=E2=80=94have
been shown to be associated with toxic metals and persistent organic
pollutants. Vascular diseases, stroke, heart attack, plus most of the
cancers and macular degeneration, have been directly linked to lead.
That=E2=80=99s just lead,=E2=80=9D notes Dr. Nash.

And =E2=80=9Cjust lead=E2=80=9D is but a minor fraction of the toxic soup in which we
have all come to stew. As Walter J. Crinnion, N.D., chairman of the
department of environmental medicine at Southwest College of
Naturopathic Medicine, Phoenix, wrote six years ago, =E2=80=9CChemical
compounds ubiquitous in our food, air, and water are now found in every
person. The bioaccumulation of these compounds in some individuals can
lead to a variety of metabolic and systemic dysfunctions, and in some
cases outright disease states.=E2=80=9D (Altern Med Rev 2000;5(1):52-63) Dr.
Crinnion wrote that some individuals appear to be less able to clear
the daily chemical exposure from the body than others, leading to a
total load of toxins that exceeds the ability of the body to adapt; at
that point, damage to certain organ systems can occur. =E2=80=9CThe systems
most affected by these xenobiotic compounds include the immune,
neurological, and endocrine systems.=E2=80=9D Immunotoxicity, according to Dr.
Crinnion, may be the major factor in the increasing rates of asthma,
allergies, cancers, and chronic viral infections. But the effects are
widespread: =E2=80=9CNeurological toxicity can affect cognition, mood, and
cause chronic neurological illnesses. Endocrine toxicity can affect
reproduction, menses, libido, metabolism, stress-handling ability,
glucose regulation, and other important functions.=E2=80=9D

A 2003 U.S. study by the Centers for Disease Control revealed the
presence of 116 chemicals=E2=80=94some of them banned for more than two decades
because of toxicity=E2=80=94in people of all ages. In July 2005, the CDC
released the third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental
Chemicals, which the organization stated was =E2=80=9Cthe most extensive
assessment ever made of the exposure of the U.S. population to
chemicals in our environment.=E2=80=9D CDC claims that its Environmental Health
Laboratory at the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH),
using =E2=80=9Cadvanced laboratory science and innovative techniques,=E2=80=9D has been
in the forefront of efforts to assess people's exposure to
environmental chemicals. =E2=80=9CCDC's highly trained laboratory scientists
have built on more than three decades of experience in measuring
chemicals directly in people's blood or urine, a process known as
biomonitoring.=E2=80=9D While presenting first-time exposure information for 38
of the 148 chemicals included, the CDC makes clear that =E2=80=9Cthe
measurement of an environmental chemical in a person=E2=80=99s blood or urine
does not by itself mean that the chemical causes disease =E2=80=A6 separate
studies of varying exposure levels and health effects are needed to
determine which blood or urine levels result in disease.=E2=80=9D However,
according to Dr. Buttar, =E2=80=9Cthe number one concern among scientists at
CDC, which they cannot say publicly, is mercury; number two is
arsenic.=E2=80=9D

The CDC report also makes an important distinction: that the level of
chemicals found within the body is a result of the cumulative impact of
many different types of exposure. =E2=80=9CConcentrations of environmental
chemicals in blood or urine are not the same as those in air, water,
food, soil, or dust. For example, a chemical concentration of 10 =CE=BCg/L
in water does not produce a level of 10 =CE=BCg/L in blood or urine. Blood
or urine levels may reflect exposure from one or more sources,
including air, water, food, soil, and dust. Levels of a chemical in
blood and urine are determined by how much of the chemical has entered
the body through all routes of exposure, including ingestion,
inhalation, or dermal absorption, and how the chemical is distributed
in body tissues, transformed into metabolites, and eliminated from the
body.=E2=80=9D Not only does this reinforce the concept that environmental
pollutants are ubiquitous in our environment, it also makes the
findings more useful from a health standpoint: =E2=80=9CBiomonitoring
measurements are the most
 health-relevant assessments of exposure because they measure the
amount of the chemical that actually gets into people from all
environmental sources combined. With a few exceptions, it is the
concentration of the chemical in people that provides the best exposure
information to evaluate the potential for adverse health effects,=E2=80=9D
notes the CDC.

The implications of multiple-source exposure are disturbing. Britain=E2=80=99s
Environmental Toxins Foundation (ETF) states that =E2=80=9Cmore and more
research [is] pointing towards mounting evidence of structural and
genetic damage, potentially caused to the human morphology, through the
huge influx of chemical agents found in the air, soil and water today=E2=80=A6
As more and more people are made aware of the implications from the
accumulation of varying levels of different chemicals in our bodies,
the need to monitor and curb the influx of these agents permeating into
our daily lives, becomes seemingly obvious. An influx of agents
absorbed, ingested and inhaled from the food we eat, the water we drink
and from the air we breath=E2=80=A6 this very crucial issue of: chronic
sub-lethal poisoning to our bodies from the: inhalation, ingestion and
absorption of heavy metals, inorganic and organic chemical compounds
which are increasingly prevalent in our modern environment.=E2=80=9D

In a paper published in Alternative Therapies, July/August 2005,
=E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine,=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash sums up recent developments in his
specialty, metal toxicity: =E2=80=9CDuring the past five years, the
understanding of vascular disease has changed. Vulnerable plaque has
replaced stenotic lesion as the main cause of vascular problems.
Questions about the long-term benefits of coronary artery bypass
grafting (CABG) surgery have been raised. Metals have been implicated
in many of the diseases of aging as well as in neurodevelopmental
diseases and autism spectrum disorders. The American Board of Chelation
Therapy (ABCT) has formally changed its name to the American Board of
Clinical Metal Toxicology (ABCMT) because of the new scientific
association of toxicant metals with multiple diseases.=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash also
explains that with the advent of the industrial revolution, the
presence of many metals, such as lead and mercury, in the environment
has increased. =E2=80=9CTobacco, which tends to bio-concentrate cadmium, is a
major producer of metal. Arsenic has been used in the past in
agriculture. Forest fires release metals, especially mercury, from
stable seleno-mercurial compounds that are extraordinary stable in the
tree during its life. Volcanoes also spew out copious amounts of
mercury. One study done with ice core drilling from a glacier in
northwest Wyoming collated every major volcanic eruption with a heavy
level of mercury. Nature acts as our best filter, with plant life and
trees trapping many toxins, including toxicant metals. Between nature
and man, we have polluted the planet. Man=E2=80=99s pollution is by far the
most toxic. We are now paying a price for our environmental neglect.
That price appears to be the increasing diseases of aging, such as
vascular disease, congestive heart failure, and cancers.=E2=80=9D

Evidence of the role of environmental toxins in disease continues to
pile up. A report detailing new links between environmental toxicants
and breast cancer, =E2=80=9CState of the Evidence 2004: What Is the Connection
Between the Environment and Breast Cancer?=E2=80=9D concluded that exposure to
synthetic chemicals and radiation has contributed more than previously
thought to the rising incidence of breast cancer. The report was
jointly released October 7, 2004 by the Breast Cancer Fund, a
non-profit environmental health organization, and Breast Cancer Action,
a non-profit national education and advocacy organization. It contained
new evidence from 21 research studies published since February 2003
adding to existing evidence linking toxicants in the environment to
breast cancer, and was peer-reviewed by six leading scientists,
including a noted scientist from the International Agency for Research
on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization. According to
the report, in the past 50 years, a woman's lifetime risk of breast
cancer more than tripled in the United States, to one in seven today.
This trend parallels a staggering increase of chemicals in the
environment: the report says that =E2=80=9Ccompelling scientific evidence=E2=80=9D
points to some of the 85,000 synthetic chemicals in use today as
contributing to breast cancer by altering hormone function or gene
_expression. Fewer than one in 10 cases of breast cancer occurs in women
born with a genetic predisposition for the disease. As many as 50
percent of breast cancer cases remain unexplained by personal
characteristics and other traditionally accepted risk factors;
epidemiologists and other scientists increasingly believe many cases
are linked to environmental factors. =E2=80=9CThis [is] the clearest evidence
yet that the rise in breast cancer incidence is linked to exposure to
radiation and toxic chemicals,=E2=80=9D said Nancy Evans, a health science
consultant for the Breast Cancer Fund and the editor of the report.
=E2=80=9CMedical X-rays, pesticides, household cleaning products, personal care
products and some pharmaceuticals=E2=80=94these are just a few of the multiple
and chronic exposures contributing to this epidemic.=E2=80=9D

Other studies continue in an attempt to determine whether
endometriosis, a source of chronic pelvic pain in women, may be caused
by environmental agents, including exposure to man-made chemicals such
as dioxin and PCBs. As far back as 1992, research showed that
endometriosis in monkeys could be caused by exposure to dioxin.

Lynn Tondat Carter, Ph.D., whose doctorate is in physiological
psychology and is Professor of Psychology at the University  of
Massachusetts, writes in The Celestine Journal that toxins that
directly affect the nervous system, called neurotoxins, also affect our
immune functions, since the nervous system is intricately connected to
the immune system. =E2=80=9CThus, our very ability to think and feel normally
can be drastically affected by exposure to toxins. It does not take a
giant leap of logic to realize that we could soon be in such a state of
toxic poisoning that we would be unable to =E2=80=98problem-solve=E2=80=99 our way
out.=E2=80=9D Continues Dr. Carter:

=E2=80=9CIn 1989 alone, EPA estimates, in its Toxic Release Inventory National
Report, that 1.9 billion pounds of chemical were dumped into our
nation's water systems. In that same year, 2.4 billion pounds of
chemicals were released into the atmosphere; with the total chemical
attack on the environment estimated at 5.7 billion pounds. This is only
in one year. According to a recent report by the National Research
Council, 70,000 of the chemicals in commercial use today have not even
been tested for neurotoxic effects.

Known neurotoxins that we are most commonly exposed to are lead,
mercury, cadmium and pesticides. Most of these toxins are colorless and
odorless, making sensory detection impossible. While sudden poisoning
can result in immediate reactions that are traceable to the source, the
symptoms of poisoning from today's pollution may come on more slowly
due to a gradual build-up.

Here is just a partial list of common sub-clinical symptoms of
toxicity: fatigue, lethargy, depression, headaches, allergies, chronic
infection, frequent colds, nervousness, sudden anger, sensitivity to
perfume/odors, memory loss and joint pains. Because so many of these
symptoms could stem from a multitude of other causes, often toxicity is
not readily suspected. With continued exposure, neurotoxins may trigger
the _expression of a disease for which one has a genetic predisposition.
In general, it is thought that toxins pose the most dangerous risk for
our children.=E2=80=9D

Dr. Buttar points to a July 2005 paper, released by the Environmental
Working Group (www.ewg.org), that confirms the worst fear: that the
average person does not need to spend years being exposed to
environmental pollutants to be affected=E2=80=94nor does the average child. In
=E2=80=9CBody Burden=E2=80=94The Pollution in Newborns,=E2=80=9D EWG reports, =E2=80=9CNot long ago
scientists thought that the placenta shielded cord blood=E2=80=94and the
developing baby=E2=80=94from most chemicals and pollutants in the environment.
But now we know that at this critical time when organs, vessels,
membranes and systems are knit together from single cells to finished
form in a span of weeks, the umbilical cord carries not only the
building blocks of life, but also a steady stream of industrial
chemicals, pollutants and pesticides that cross the placenta as readily
as residues from cigarettes and alcohol=E2=80=A6=E2=80=9D Specifically, says the EWG:=C2

=E2=80=9CIn a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group in
collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories
found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in
umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of
2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the
group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red
Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product
ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.

Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that
180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and
nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in
animal tests. The dangers of pre- or post-natal exposure to this
complex mixture of carcinogens, developmental toxins and neurotoxins
have never been studied.=E2=80=9D

EWG goes on to explain why the presence of these substances in
umbilical cord blood has such profound and long-lasting implications:

Chemical exposures in the womb or during infancy can be dramatically
more harmful than exposures later in life. Substantial scientific
evidence demonstrates that children face amplified risks from their
body burden of pollution; the findings are particularly strong for many
of the chemicals found in this study, including mercury, PCBs and
dioxins. Children's vulnerability derives from both rapid development
and incomplete defense systems:
=E2=80=A2  A developing child's chemical exposures are  greater
pound-for-pound than those of adults.
=E2=80=A2  An immature, porous blood-brain barrier allows  greater chemical
exposures to the developing brain.
=E2=80=A2  Children have lower levels of some  chemical-binding proteins,
allowing more of a chemical to reach  "target organs."
=E2=80=A2  A baby's organs and systems are rapidly  developing, and thus are
often more vulnerable to damage from chemical  exposure.
=E2=80=A2  Systems that detoxify and excrete industrial chemicals  are not
fully developed.
=E2=80=A2  The longer future life span of a child compared  to an adult allows
more time for adverse effects to arise.

Most disturbing about these findings to Dr. Buttar is that in every
case, mercury was found. The presence of mercury is attributed to
pollution from coal-fired power plants, mercury-containing products,
and certain industrial processes. It accumulates in seafood. And,
though you might think the mercury problem has been abated, Dr. Nash
cites a November 17, 2004 Wall Street Journal article by Matt
Pottinger, Steve Stecklow and John J. Fialka describing the high levels
of mercury that are now being spread, particularly by massive
industrial development in China. As the article states, =E2=80=9CMercury and
other pollutants from China's more than 2,000 coal-fired power plants
soar high into the atmosphere and around the globe on what has become a
transcontinental conveyor belt of bad air. North America and Europe add
their own dirty loads to the belt. But Asia, pulsating with the
economic rebirth of China and India, is the largest contributor.=E2=80=9D It
further explains:

Scientists long assumed mercury settled into the ground or water soon
after it spewed forth as a gas from smokestacks. But using satellites,
airplanes and supercomputers, scientists are now tracking air pollution
with unprecedented precision, discovering plumes of soot, ozone,
sulfates and mercury that drift eastward across oceans and
continents=E2=80=A6The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reported
that a third of the country's lakes and nearly a quarter of its rivers
are now so polluted with mercury that children and pregnant women are
advised to limit or avoid eating fish caught there. Warnings about
mercury, a highly toxic metal used in things ranging from dental
fillings to watch batteries, have been issued by 45 states and cover
four of the five Great Lakes. Some scientists now say 30% or more of
the mercury settling into U.S. ground soil and waterways comes from
other countries =E2=80=93 in particular, China=E2=80=A6Mining, waste incineration and
coal combustion emit the metal in the form of an invisible gas. After
it rains down and seeps into wetlands, rivers and lakes, microbes
convert it into methylmercury, a compound that works its way up the
food chain into fish and eventually people.

The EWG report states, =E2=80=9CMethylmercury exposure in the womb causes
measurable declines in brain function in children exposed to levels
corresponding to 58 parts per billion in maternal blood (NAS 2000b).
Researchers in the Netherlands found a doubling in the risk of heart
attacks and death from coronary heart disease at methylmercury hair
levels of 2 mg/kg, which corresponds to about one fifth the assumed
safe maternal blood level (Salonen, et al. 1995). Increased diastolic
and systolic blood pressure and decreased heart rate variability in
developmentally exposed children have also been observed at doses below
what the EPA considers a safe maternal blood level (NAS 2000b, Sorensen
et al. 1999).=E2=80=9D The Wall Street Journal reinforces this: =E2=80=9CThe dangers of
significant methylmercury exposure to the nervous system are well
documented, particularly in fetuses and children. Permanent harm to
children can range from subtle deficits in memory and attention span to
mental retardation. In January [2004], EPA scientists released research
indicating that 630,000 U.S. babies born during a 12-month period in
1999-2000 had potentially unsafe levels of mercury in their blood =E2=80=93
about twice as many babies as previously estimated.=E2=80=9D Among the possible
implications of mercury and other toxins cited by EWG:

Major nervous system disorders. Several recent studies have determined
that the reported incidence of autism is increasing, and is now almost
10 times higher than in the mid-1980's (Byrd 2002, Chakrabarti and
Fombonne 2001). The number of children being diagnosed and treated for
attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) has also increased dramatically in the past decade
(Robison et al. 1999, Robison et al. 2002, Zito et al. 2000). The
causes are largely unexplained, but environmental factors, including
chemical exposures, are considered a likely contributor. Environmental
factors have also been increasingly linked with Parkinson's disease
(Checkoway and Nelson 1999, Engel et al. 2001).

In =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine,=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash goes into more detail:

Mercury is known to affect the brain and has been associated with the
causation or exacerbation of degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease, multiple sclerosis, and
Parkinson=E2=80=99s disease... mercury is associated with autism, the
degenerative diseases of the brain mentioned above, neurodevelopmental
diseases, vascular diseases, nephrotoxicity, and cancer. [Clarkson TW,
Magos L, Myers GJ. The toxicology of mercury=E2=80=94current exposures and
clinical manifestations.N Engl J Med. 2003;349(18):1731-1737] points
out that =E2=80=9Cthe fetal brain is more susceptible than the adult brain to
mercury induced damage.=E2=80=9D Specifically, methylmercury =E2=80=9Cinhibits the
division and migration of neuronal cells=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cdisrupts the
cytoarchitecture of the developing brain.=E2=80=9D Recent studies have
correlated the explosive increase of autism with thimerosal, an
additive to many vaccines that contains 50% ethyl mercury.

This issue of a connection between thimerosal and autism has been of
particular concern to both Dr. Buttar and Dr. Nash. As we reported in
the June 14, 2005 issue of the e-Journal, Dr. Buttar testified in 2004
before a congressional subcommittee hearing sponsored by Rep. Dan
Burton (R-IN) about the connection between heavy metals=E2=80=94particularly
mercury=E2=80=94and autism. Dr. Buttar discussed the chelation therapy he had
offered his own son, who had a profound developmental delay and is now
an example of how autism can be fully and permanently reversed in some
children. Dr. Nash was one of a number of experts who joined with Rep.
Burton=E2=80=99s House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and
Wellness to refute the findings published in the Institute of Medicine
(IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee's Vaccines and Autism report
of May 18, 2004. In that report, the eighth and final in a series
designed to examine the safety of vaccines that contain thimerosal, the
IOM Committee concluded, "The body of epidemiological evidence favors
the rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing
vaccines and autism,=E2=80=9D even though the Committee had in a 2001 report
called such a causal relationship, =E2=80=9Cbiologically plausible.=E2=80=9D The
Committee based its final conclusions on their review of approximately
10 previously conducted epidemiological studies. Of those roughly 10
studies, 5 reported probable links between thimerosal-containing
vaccines and autism, yet those 5 were summarily dismissed because the
Committee determined the manner in which they were conducted was
flawed. At that time, Rep. Burton stated, =E2=80=9CI believe the [IOM] findings
are heavily biased, and unrepresentative of all the available
scientific and medical research. I think it is highly irresponsible for
the IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee to purport definitive
findings to the American public, which are based on selective
scientific studies that are greatly flawed to begin with.=E2=80=9D

The NIH describes chelation is a chemical process in which a substance
is used to bind molecules, such as metals or minerals, and hold them
tightly so that they can be removed from a system, such as the body. In
medicine, says the NIH, chelation has been scientifically proven to rid
the body of excess or toxic metals. For example, a person who has lead
poisoning may be given chelation therapy in order to bind and remove
excess lead from the body before it can cause damage. Chelation therapy
has been a keystone of Dr. Buttar=E2=80=99s treatment program, with which he
has reported great success in improving the prospects for autistic
children. His Advanced Concepts in Medicine clinic specializes in
treating cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions in patients
refractory to conventional treatments, with a special emphasis on the
interrelationship between metal toxicity and insidious disease
processes. With his newfound conviction that every chronic disease is
related to toxicity, Dr. Buttar=E2=80=99s treatment philosophy is likely to
take on even greater significance. As he puts it, =E2=80=9CThese aren=E2=80=99t my
theories, these things have been out there. What we have done is taken
that hypothesis and figured out how to remove those toxins. The problem
is the simplicity of it makes most people say it can=E2=80=99t be=E2=80=94it=E2=80=99s more
complicated.=E2=80=9D Dr. Buttar does not limit toxicity to only metal and
chemical pollutants, however. He categorizes toxins into five groups,
of which the first three, he says, are measurable, with the last two
being =E2=80=9Cmore esoteric=E2=80=9D:

1. Metals =E2=80=93 The CDC list of metal pollutants includes
 Antimony
 Barium
 Beryllium
 Cadmium
 Cesium
 Cobalt
 Lead
 Mercury
 Molybdenum
 Platinum
 Tungsten
 Thallium
 Uranium

2. Organic pollutants =E2=80=93 benzines, hydrocarbons, etc.=C2

3. Opportunistics =E2=80=93 bacteria, virus, yeast; these need an opportunity
to set up house, and find it in immune systems damaged from toxicity
groups 1 and 2.

4. Energy =E2=80=93 electromagnetics cause a disruption in our resonance;
microwaves are the most dangerous.

5. Spiritual, psychological, emotional =E2=80=93 someone who is not =E2=80=9Cwhole,=E2=80=9D
lacking something. Explains Dr. Buttar, =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve gotten cancer patients
to the point that everything is fine, but their =E2=80=98time is up=E2=80=99; patients
who on autopsy show no evidence of cancer, but still died.=E2=80=9D

Dr. Nash noted in =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine=E2=80=9D that the effects of toxicant
metals on human health have been reported in peer-reviewed literature
with increasing frequency; they are present in many diseases of aging,
especially vascular diseases. And though historical experience of
toxicologists who treated individuals poisoned by acutely toxicant
metals is waning=E2=80=94very few of these cases have been reported during the
past 30 years in the U.S.=E2=80=94researchers with a special interest in
clinical metal toxicology have noticed a clinical correlation between
metal detoxification by chelation therapy and clinical improvement of
vascular diseases.

In 2002, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), both
components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced the
Trial To Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT). TACT is the first
large-scale, multicenter study to determine the safety and efficacy of
EDTA chelation therapy for individuals with coronary artery disease
(CAD), the most common form of heart disease.. The principal
investigator for the trial is Gervasio A. Lamas, M.D., director of
cardiovascular research and academic affairs at Mount Sinai Medical
Center-Miami Heart Institute, Miami  Beach, a board-certified
cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at University of
Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Nash is serving on the NIH Data and
Safety Management Board of the study=E2=80=94=E2=80=9CI am one of seven on the panel to
oversee this study, for safety reasons,=E2=80=9D he says. Investigators
enrolled the first participants in September 2003. The study will take
approximately five years to complete.

Dr. Nash says he can only speak with authority on metal detoxification,
but in his view, the =E2=80=9Cbig 4=E2=80=9D metal toxins are lead, mercury, arsenic,
and cadmium. =E2=80=9CAll four are easily detected by provoked urine testing,=E2=80=9D
says Dr. Nash. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re finding in excess of 95 percent of the population
over 50 has large amounts of toxic metals in the body when provoked
urine testing is performed.=E2=80=9D The treatment he recommends is to detoxify
the body of these metals. Dr. Nash hopes the group of professionals to
which he belongs, called clinical metal toxicologists, can provide
better disease management by using a new standard of preventive care.
=E2=80=9CLook at the cost of treatment. Most of the cost=E2=80=94up to 60 percent of
Medicare=E2=80=94goes to heroic efforts during the last six months of life.
Most of us feel that money should be spent on true diagnosis as well as
better disease management. We feel that we need to detoxify as best we
can, and provide patients with adequate micro and macro dietary intake
to provide building blocks to build up their own immune systems.=E2=80=9D

Of particular concern to those treating the diseases of aging is the
possible connection between mercury and Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease. Dr. Nash
notes, =E2=80=9CSome of the [mercurous] vapors [from dental amalgams] reach the
brain via the ethmoid sinuses. Is it coincidental that Alzheimer=E2=80=99s
disease has shown degenerative tracts often following the olfactory
connections?=E2=80=A6There is increasing evidence of mercury associated with
Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease. Dr. Boyd Haley, Chairman of the Department of
Biochemistry, University  of Kentucky, has published multiple papers on
his research since the late 1980s. He has successfully reproduced the
changes seen in Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease in the brain homogenate of normal
brains with the addition of mercury, in the form of both mercury
chloride and thimerosal.=E2=80=9D Some people hypothesize that mercury may
contribute to autism on one end of the lifespan and Alzheimer=E2=80=99s on the
other end, Dr. Nash told us. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not convinced that mercury is the
sole cause, but other factors may be involved. It could be a genetic
thing. It appears there is a third of the people who are genetically
prone to not getting rid of the metals, who may be most susceptible for
Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease.=E2=80=9D In his article, Dr. Nash goes on to conclude,
=E2=80=9CThe work of Haley, Aposhian, Godfrey, and others makes a strong case
that mercury may cause or at the very least exacerbate Alzheimer=E2=80=99s
disease. Studies looking at toxic metals, especially mercury, as a
possible cause for Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease need to be conducted. The
clinical metal toxicologists have clinical experience that early metal
detoxification will often stabilize and even reverse early Alzheimer=E2=80=99s
disease. More research is needed.=E2=80=9D

As with other integrative practitioners, Dr. Nash sees the necessity
for a fundamental change in the way medicine approaches disease. =E2=80=9CWe
need to find out what is causative of diseases of aging. This will take
time, but we have not had an adequate prevention of diseases. Most
patients who see doctors do not have diseases, they have symptoms.
Doctors know symptoms don=E2=80=99t kill folks, but they placate patients with
medications to ease symptoms. The mechanism is straightforward; in the
clinical setting you can shift the physician=E2=80=99s mindset from only
treating the symptoms of disease, to understand that these diseases
have correlates that we have never recognized.=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash believes that
recognition of causative factors of disease is a trend that is
spreading worldwide. In =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine=E2=80=9D he concludes,

=E2=80=9CToxicant metals are increasingly being associated with multiple
disease states=E2=80=A6The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
have authorized payment for in-office, intravenous metals
detoxification in the District  of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Texas,
and Virginia, as well as the Indian Health Service. This is a great
opportunity to collect meaningful data directly from patients. It is
known that dialysis can be delayed at least two or three years by
repeated in-office, intravenous metals detoxification; it is hoped that
all prospective dialysis patients would be tested for toxicant metals
and treated appropriately. If detoxification of toxicant metals can
become the standard in time, our health may improve markedly. Could
toxicant metals be a diagnosable and treatable risk factor in many of
the diseases affecting this nation? The clinical metal toxicologists
are the experts in low-dose, chronic accumulation of toxicant metals
and the symptomatic reversal observed with treatment. Many clinical
metal toxicologists are participating in the NIH=E2=80=99s TACT study. More
research is needed in the basic science mechanisms of toxicant metals
and common diseases. Additional clinical research, besides the TACT
study, is also needed.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CI believe toxicant metals and their detection and detoxification will
be one of the exciting new fields in medicine. I have great hope for
the future of medicine,=E2=80=9D adds Dr. Nash.=C2




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<BR>
<BR>
Detoxing Chemicals and Pollutants for Optimal Health<BR>
<BR>
By Jeff Morris<BR>
<BR>
Are your patients toxic? The answer increasingly appears to be yes=E2=80=94and <B=
R>
your job, in order to maintain optimal health and reduce the incidence <BR>
of the diseases of aging, is to detoxify them. That conclusion is one <BR>
being reached by more and more anti-aging practitioners, and achieves <BR>
particular resonance with Rashid O. Buttar, D.O. of Cornelius, NC, and <BR>
Robert A. Nash, M.D. of Virginia Beach, VA.<BR>
<BR>
=E2=80=9CI can now very comfortably and definitively state to you,=E2=80=9D says Dr. <B=
R>
Buttar, =E2=80=9Cthat, in my opinion, based on the evidence, every single <BR>
chronic insidious disease process is related to one word: toxicity. You <BR=
>
cannot address the issues of aging unless you address detoxification.=E2=80=9D <B=
R>
Dr. Buttar, board certified and a diplomat in preventive medicine and <BR>
clinical metal toxicology, and Vice-Chairman of the American Board of <BR>
Clinical Metal Toxicology, contends that he only recently arrived at <BR>
this conclusion. =E2=80=9CFive years ago I wouldn=E2=80=99t have said this, even a year=
 <BR>
ago I wouldn=E2=80=99t have said it. But the more success we=E2=80=99ve had, the <BR>
clearer it has become: All chronic disease is toxicity. You get rid of <BR>
the toxicity and you put out the fire. You may need to rebuild <BR>
afterward, but you must put the fire out. Conventional medicine is just <BR=
>
covering your eyes so you don=E2=80=99t see the fire.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Nash, who is board certified in neurology, pain medicine, and <BR>
chelation therapy and is Chairman of the American Board of Clinical <BR>
Metal Toxicology, concurs, though perhaps not 100 percent. =E2=80=9CMost of the <=
BR>
diseases of aging=E2=80=94vascular, most cancers, arthritis and others=E2=80=94have <BR=
>
been shown to be associated with toxic metals and persistent organic <BR>
pollutants. Vascular diseases, stroke, heart attack, plus most of the <BR>
cancers and macular degeneration, have been directly linked to lead. <BR>
That=E2=80=99s just lead,=E2=80=9D notes Dr. Nash.<BR>
<BR>
And =E2=80=9Cjust lead=E2=80=9D is but a minor fraction of the toxic soup in which we <=
BR>
have all come to stew. As Walter J. Crinnion, N.D., chairman of the <BR>
department of environmental medicine at Southwest College of <BR>
Naturopathic Medicine, Phoenix, wrote six years ago, =E2=80=9CChemical <BR>
compounds ubiquitous in our food, air, and water are now found in every <BR=
>
person. The bioaccumulation of these compounds in some individuals can <BR>
lead to a variety of metabolic and systemic dysfunctions, and in some <BR>
cases outright disease states.=E2=80=9D (Altern Med Rev 2000;5(1):52-63) Dr. <BR>
Crinnion wrote that some individuals appear to be less able to clear <BR>
the daily chemical exposure from the body than others, leading to a <BR>
total load of toxins that exceeds the ability of the body to adapt; at <BR>
that point, damage to certain organ systems can occur. =E2=80=9CThe systems <BR>
most affected by these xenobiotic compounds include the immune, <BR>
neurological, and endocrine systems.=E2=80=9D Immunotoxicity, according to Dr. <B=
R>
Crinnion, may be the major factor in the increasing rates of asthma, <BR>
allergies, cancers, and chronic viral infections. But the effects are <BR>
widespread: =E2=80=9CNeurological toxicity can affect cognition, mood, and <BR>
cause chronic neurological illnesses. Endocrine toxicity can affect <BR>
reproduction, menses, libido, metabolism, stress-handling ability, <BR>
glucose regulation, and other important functions.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
A 2003 U.S. study by the Centers for Disease Control revealed the <BR>
presence of 116 chemicals=E2=80=94some of them banned for more than two decades <=
BR>
because of toxicity=E2=80=94in people of all ages. In July 2005, the CDC <BR>
released the third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental <BR>
Chemicals, which the organization stated was =E2=80=9Cthe most extensive <BR>
assessment ever made of the exposure of the U.S. population to <BR>
chemicals in our environment.=E2=80=9D CDC claims that its Environmental Health <=
BR>
Laboratory at the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), <BR>
using =E2=80=9Cadvanced laboratory science and innovative techniques,=E2=80=9D has been=
 <BR>
in the forefront of efforts to assess people's exposure to <BR>
environmental chemicals. =E2=80=9CCDC's highly trained laboratory scientists <BR>
have built on more than three decades of experience in measuring <BR>
chemicals directly in people's blood or urine, a process known as <BR>
biomonitoring.=E2=80=9D While presenting first-time exposure information for 38 <=
BR>
of the 148 chemicals included, the CDC makes clear that =E2=80=9Cthe <BR>
measurement of an environmental chemical in a person=E2=80=99s blood or urine <BR=
>
does not by itself mean that the chemical causes disease =E2=80=A6 separate <BR>
studies of varying exposure levels and health effects are needed to <BR>
determine which blood or urine levels result in disease.=E2=80=9D However, <BR>
according to Dr. Buttar, =E2=80=9Cthe number one concern among scientists at <BR>
CDC, which they cannot say publicly, is mercury; number two is <BR>
arsenic.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
The CDC report also makes an important distinction: that the level of <BR>
chemicals found within the body is a result of the cumulative impact of <BR=
>
many different types of exposure. =E2=80=9CConcentrations of environmental <BR>
chemicals in blood or urine are not the same as those in air, water, <BR>
food, soil, or dust. For example, a chemical concentration of 10 =CE=BCg/L <BR>
in water does not produce a level of 10 =CE=BCg/L in blood or urine. Blood <BR>
or urine levels may reflect exposure from one or more sources, <BR>
including air, water, food, soil, and dust. Levels of a chemical in <BR>
blood and urine are determined by how much of the chemical has entered <BR>
the body through all routes of exposure, including ingestion, <BR>
inhalation, or dermal absorption, and how the chemical is distributed <BR>
in body tissues, transformed into metabolites, and eliminated from the <BR>
body.=E2=80=9D Not only does this reinforce the concept that environmental <BR>
pollutants are ubiquitous in our environment, it also makes the <BR>
findings more useful from a health standpoint: =E2=80=9CBiomonitoring <BR>
measurements are the most<BR>
 &nbsp;health-relevant assessments of exposure because they measure the <BR=
>
amount of the chemical that actually gets into people from all <BR>
environmental sources combined. With a few exceptions, it is the <BR>
concentration of the chemical in people that provides the best exposure <BR=
>
information to evaluate the potential for adverse health effects,=E2=80=9D <BR>
notes the CDC.<BR>
<BR>
The implications of multiple-source exposure are disturbing. Britain=E2=80=99s <B=
R>
Environmental Toxins Foundation (ETF) states that =E2=80=9Cmore and more <BR>
research [is] pointing towards mounting evidence of structural and <BR>
genetic damage, potentially caused to the human morphology, through the <BR=
>
huge influx of chemical agents found in the air, soil and water today=E2=80=A6 <B=
R>
As more and more people are made aware of the implications from the <BR>
accumulation of varying levels of different chemicals in our bodies, <BR>
the need to monitor and curb the influx of these agents permeating into <BR=
>
our daily lives, becomes seemingly obvious. An influx of agents <BR>
absorbed, ingested and inhaled from the food we eat, the water we drink <BR=
>
and from the air we breath=E2=80=A6 this very crucial issue of: chronic <BR>
sub-lethal poisoning to our bodies from the: inhalation, ingestion and <BR>
absorption of heavy metals, inorganic and organic chemical compounds <BR>
which are increasingly prevalent in our modern environment.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
In a paper published in Alternative Therapies, July/August 2005, <BR>
=E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine,=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash sums up recent developments in his <BR>
specialty, metal toxicity: =E2=80=9CDuring the past five years, the <BR>
understanding of vascular disease has changed. Vulnerable plaque has <BR>
replaced stenotic lesion as the main cause of vascular problems. <BR>
Questions about the long-term benefits of coronary artery bypass <BR>
grafting (CABG) surgery have been raised. Metals have been implicated <BR>
in many of the diseases of aging as well as in neurodevelopmental <BR>
diseases and autism spectrum disorders. The American Board of Chelation <BR=
>
Therapy (ABCT) has formally changed its name to the American Board of <BR>
Clinical Metal Toxicology (ABCMT) because of the new scientific <BR>
association of toxicant metals with multiple diseases.=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash also <BR=
>
explains that with the advent of the industrial revolution, the <BR>
presence of many metals, such as lead and mercury, in the environment <BR>
has increased. =E2=80=9CTobacco, which tends to bio-concentrate cadmium, is a <BR=
>
major producer of metal. Arsenic has been used in the past in <BR>
agriculture. Forest fires release metals, especially mercury, from <BR>
stable seleno-mercurial compounds that are extraordinary stable in the <BR>
tree during its life. Volcanoes also spew out copious amounts of <BR>
mercury. One study done with ice core drilling from a glacier in <BR>
northwest Wyoming collated every major volcanic eruption with a heavy <BR>
level of mercury. Nature acts as our best filter, with plant life and <BR>
trees trapping many toxins, including toxicant metals. Between nature <BR>
and man, we have polluted the planet. Man=E2=80=99s pollution is by far the <BR>
most toxic. We are now paying a price for our environmental neglect. <BR>
That price appears to be the increasing diseases of aging, such as <BR>
vascular disease, congestive heart failure, and cancers.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Evidence of the role of environmental toxins in disease continues to <BR>
pile up. A report detailing new links between environmental toxicants <BR>
and breast cancer, =E2=80=9CState of the Evidence 2004: What Is the Connection <B=
R>
Between the Environment and Breast Cancer?=E2=80=9D concluded that exposure to <B=
R>
synthetic chemicals and radiation has contributed more than previously <BR>
thought to the rising incidence of breast cancer. The report was <BR>
jointly released October 7, 2004 by the Breast Cancer Fund, a <BR>
non-profit environmental health organization, and Breast Cancer Action, <BR=
>
a non-profit national education and advocacy organization. It contained <BR=
>
new evidence from 21 research studies published since February 2003 <BR>
adding to existing evidence linking toxicants in the environment to <BR>
breast cancer, and was peer-reviewed by six leading scientists, <BR>
including a noted scientist from the International Agency for Research <BR>
on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization. According to <BR>
the report, in the past 50 years, a woman's lifetime risk of breast <BR>
cancer more than tripled in the United States, to one in seven today. <BR>
This trend parallels a staggering increase of chemicals in the <BR>
environment: the report says that =E2=80=9Ccompelling scientific evidence=E2=80=9D <BR>
points to some of the 85,000 synthetic chemicals in use today as <BR>
contributing to breast cancer by altering hormone function or gene <BR>
_expression. Fewer than one in 10 cases of breast cancer occurs in women <B=
R>
born with a genetic predisposition for the disease. As many as 50 <BR>
percent of breast cancer cases remain unexplained by personal <BR>
characteristics and other traditionally accepted risk factors; <BR>
epidemiologists and other scientists increasingly believe many cases <BR>
are linked to environmental factors. =E2=80=9CThis [is] the clearest evidence <BR=
>
yet that the rise in breast cancer incidence is linked to exposure to <BR>
radiation and toxic chemicals,=E2=80=9D said Nancy Evans, a health science <BR>
consultant for the Breast Cancer Fund and the editor of the report. <BR>
=E2=80=9CMedical X-rays, pesticides, household cleaning products, personal care <=
BR>
products and some pharmaceuticals=E2=80=94these are just a few of the multiple <B=
R>
and chronic exposures contributing to this epidemic.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Other studies continue in an attempt to determine whether <BR>
endometriosis, a source of chronic pelvic pain in women, may be caused <BR>
by environmental agents, including exposure to man-made chemicals such <BR>
as dioxin and PCBs. As far back as 1992, research showed that <BR>
endometriosis in monkeys could be caused by exposure to dioxin.<BR>
<BR>
Lynn Tondat Carter, Ph.D., whose doctorate is in physiological <BR>
psychology and is Professor of Psychology at the University &nbsp;of <BR>
Massachusetts, writes in The Celestine Journal that toxins that <BR>
directly affect the nervous system, called neurotoxins, also affect our <BR=
>
immune functions, since the nervous system is intricately connected to <BR>
the immune system. =E2=80=9CThus, our very ability to think and feel normally <BR=
>
can be drastically affected by exposure to toxins. It does not take a <BR>
giant leap of logic to realize that we could soon be in such a state of <BR=
>
toxic poisoning that we would be unable to =E2=80=98problem-solve=E2=80=99 our way <BR>
out.=E2=80=9D Continues Dr. Carter:<BR>
<BR>
=E2=80=9CIn 1989 alone, EPA estimates, in its Toxic Release Inventory National <B=
R>
Report, that 1.9 billion pounds of chemical were dumped into our <BR>
nation's water systems. In that same year, 2.4 billion pounds of <BR>
chemicals were released into the atmosphere; with the total chemical <BR>
attack on the environment estimated at 5.7 billion pounds. This is only <BR=
>
in one year. According to a recent report by the National Research <BR>
Council, 70,000 of the chemicals in commercial use today have not even <BR>
been tested for neurotoxic effects.<BR>
<BR>
Known neurotoxins that we are most commonly exposed to are lead, <BR>
mercury, cadmium and pesticides. Most of these toxins are colorless and <BR=
>
odorless, making sensory detection impossible. While sudden poisoning <BR>
can result in immediate reactions that are traceable to the source, the <BR=
>
symptoms of poisoning from today's pollution may come on more slowly <BR>
due to a gradual build-up.<BR>
<BR>
Here is just a partial list of common sub-clinical symptoms of <BR>
toxicity: fatigue, lethargy, depression, headaches, allergies, chronic <BR>
infection, frequent colds, nervousness, sudden anger, sensitivity to <BR>
perfume/odors, memory loss and joint pains. Because so many of these <BR>
symptoms could stem from a multitude of other causes, often toxicity is <BR=
>
not readily suspected. With continued exposure, neurotoxins may trigger <BR=
>
the _expression of a disease for which one has a genetic predisposition. <B=
R>
In general, it is thought that toxins pose the most dangerous risk for <BR>
our children.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Buttar points to a July 2005 paper, released by the Environmental <BR>
Working Group (<FONT COLOR=3D"#003399">www.ewg.org</FONT>), that confirms the=
 worst fear: that the <BR>
average person does not need to spend years being exposed to <BR>
environmental pollutants to be affected=E2=80=94nor does the average child. In <B=
R>
=E2=80=9CBody Burden=E2=80=94The Pollution in Newborns,=E2=80=9D EWG reports, =E2=80=9CNot long ago=
 <BR>
scientists thought that the placenta shielded cord blood=E2=80=94and the <BR>
developing baby=E2=80=94from most chemicals and pollutants in the environment. <B=
R>
But now we know that at this critical time when organs, vessels, <BR>
membranes and systems are knit together from single cells to finished <BR>
form in a span of weeks, the umbilical cord carries not only the <BR>
building blocks of life, but also a steady stream of industrial <BR>
chemicals, pollutants and pesticides that cross the placenta as readily <BR=
>
as residues from cigarettes and alcohol=E2=80=A6=E2=80=9D Specifically, says the EWG:=C2 =
<BR>
<BR>
=E2=80=9CIn a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group in <BR>
collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories <BR>
found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in <BR>
umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of <BR>
2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the <BR>
group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red <BR>
Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product <BR>
ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.<BR>
<BR>
Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that <BR>
180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and <BR>
nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in <BR>
animal tests. The dangers of pre- or post-natal exposure to this <BR>
complex mixture of carcinogens, developmental toxins and neurotoxins <BR>
have never been studied.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
EWG goes on to explain why the presence of these substances in <BR>
umbilical cord blood has such profound and long-lasting implications:<BR>
<BR>
Chemical exposures in the womb or during infancy can be dramatically <BR>
more harmful than exposures later in life. Substantial scientific <BR>
evidence demonstrates that children face amplified risks from their <BR>
body burden of pollution; the findings are particularly strong for many <BR=
>
of the chemicals found in this study, including mercury, PCBs and <BR>
dioxins. Children's vulnerability derives from both rapid development <BR>
and incomplete defense systems:<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;A developing child's chemical exposures are &nbsp;greater <BR>
pound-for-pound than those of adults.<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;An immature, porous blood-brain barrier allows &nbsp;greater che=
mical <BR>
exposures to the developing brain.<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;Children have lower levels of some &nbsp;chemical-binding protei=
ns, <BR>
allowing more of a chemical to reach &nbsp;&quot;target organs.&quot;<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;A baby's organs and systems are rapidly &nbsp;developing, and th=
us are <BR>
often more vulnerable to damage from chemical &nbsp;exposure.<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;Systems that detoxify and excrete industrial chemicals &nbsp;are=
 not <BR>
fully developed.<BR>
 =E2=80=A2 &nbsp;The longer future life span of a child compared &nbsp;to an adul=
t allows <BR>
more time for adverse effects to arise.<BR>
<BR>
Most disturbing about these findings to Dr. Buttar is that in every <BR>
case, mercury was found. The presence of mercury is attributed to <BR>
pollution from coal-fired power plants, mercury-containing products, <BR>
and certain industrial processes. It accumulates in seafood. And, <BR>
though you might think the mercury problem has been abated, Dr. Nash <BR>
cites a November 17, 2004 Wall Street Journal article by Matt <BR>
Pottinger, Steve Stecklow and John J. Fialka describing the high levels <BR=
>
of mercury that are now being spread, particularly by massive <BR>
industrial development in China. As the article states, =E2=80=9CMercury and <BR>
other pollutants from China's more than 2,000 coal-fired power plants <BR>
soar high into the atmosphere and around the globe on what has become a <BR=
>
transcontinental conveyor belt of bad air. North America and Europe add <BR=
>
their own dirty loads to the belt. But Asia, pulsating with the <BR>
economic rebirth of China and India, is the largest contributor.=E2=80=9D It <BR>
further explains:<BR>
<BR>
Scientists long assumed mercury settled into the ground or water soon <BR>
after it spewed forth as a gas from smokestacks. But using satellites, <BR>
airplanes and supercomputers, scientists are now tracking air pollution <BR=
>
with unprecedented precision, discovering plumes of soot, ozone, <BR>
sulfates and mercury that drift eastward across oceans and <BR>
continents=E2=80=A6The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reported <BR=
>
that a third of the country's lakes and nearly a quarter of its rivers <BR>
are now so polluted with mercury that children and pregnant women are <BR>
advised to limit or avoid eating fish caught there. Warnings about <BR>
mercury, a highly toxic metal used in things ranging from dental <BR>
fillings to watch batteries, have been issued by 45 states and cover <BR>
four of the five Great Lakes. Some scientists now say 30% or more of <BR>
the mercury settling into U.S. ground soil and waterways comes from <BR>
other countries =E2=80=93 in particular, China=E2=80=A6Mining, waste incineration and <=
BR>
coal combustion emit the metal in the form of an invisible gas. After <BR>
it rains down and seeps into wetlands, rivers and lakes, microbes <BR>
convert it into methylmercury, a compound that works its way up the <BR>
food chain into fish and eventually people.<BR>
<BR>
The EWG report states, =E2=80=9CMethylmercury exposure in the womb causes <BR>
measurable declines in brain function in children exposed to levels <BR>
corresponding to 58 parts per billion in maternal blood (NAS 2000b). <BR>
Researchers in the Netherlands found a doubling in the risk of heart <BR>
attacks and death from coronary heart disease at methylmercury hair <BR>
levels of 2 mg/kg, which corresponds to about one fifth the assumed <BR>
safe maternal blood level (Salonen, et al. 1995). Increased diastolic <BR>
and systolic blood pressure and decreased heart rate variability in <BR>
developmentally exposed children have also been observed at doses below <BR=
>
what the EPA considers a safe maternal blood level (NAS 2000b, Sorensen <BR=
>
et al. 1999).=E2=80=9D The Wall Street Journal reinforces this: =E2=80=9CThe dangers of=
 <BR>
significant methylmercury exposure to the nervous system are well <BR>
documented, particularly in fetuses and children. Permanent harm to <BR>
children can range from subtle deficits in memory and attention span to <BR=
>
mental retardation. In January [2004], EPA scientists released research <BR=
>
indicating that 630,000 U.S. babies born during a 12-month period in <BR>
1999-2000 had potentially unsafe levels of mercury in their blood =E2=80=93 <BR>
about twice as many babies as previously estimated.=E2=80=9D Among the possible <=
BR>
implications of mercury and other toxins cited by EWG:<BR>
<BR>
Major nervous system disorders. Several recent studies have determined <BR>
that the reported incidence of autism is increasing, and is now almost <BR>
10 times higher than in the mid-1980's (Byrd 2002, Chakrabarti and <BR>
Fombonne 2001). The number of children being diagnosed and treated for <BR>
attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity <BR>
disorder (ADHD) has also increased dramatically in the past decade <BR>
(Robison et al. 1999, Robison et al. 2002, Zito et al. 2000). The <BR>
causes are largely unexplained, but environmental factors, including <BR>
chemical exposures, are considered a likely contributor. Environmental <BR>
factors have also been increasingly linked with Parkinson's disease <BR>
(Checkoway and Nelson 1999, Engel et al. 2001).<BR>
<BR>
In =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine,=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash goes into more detail:<BR>
<BR>
Mercury is known to affect the brain and has been associated with the <BR>
causation or exacerbation of degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic <BR>
lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease, multiple sclerosis, and <BR>
Parkinson=E2=80=99s disease... mercury is associated with autism, the <BR>
degenerative diseases of the brain mentioned above, neurodevelopmental <BR>
diseases, vascular diseases, nephrotoxicity, and cancer. [Clarkson TW, <BR>
Magos L, Myers GJ. The toxicology of mercury=E2=80=94current exposures and <BR>
clinical manifestations.N Engl J Med. 2003;349(18):1731-1737] points <BR>
out that =E2=80=9Cthe fetal brain is more susceptible than the adult brain to <BR=
>
mercury induced damage.=E2=80=9D Specifically, methylmercury =E2=80=9Cinhibits the <BR>
division and migration of neuronal cells=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cdisrupts the <BR>
cytoarchitecture of the developing brain.=E2=80=9D Recent studies have <BR>
correlated the explosive increase of autism with thimerosal, an <BR>
additive to many vaccines that contains 50% ethyl mercury.<BR>
<BR>
This issue of a connection between thimerosal and autism has been of <BR>
particular concern to both Dr. Buttar and Dr. Nash. As we reported in <BR>
the June 14, 2005 issue of the e-Journal, Dr. Buttar testified in 2004 <BR>
before a congressional subcommittee hearing sponsored by Rep. Dan <BR>
Burton (R-IN) about the connection between heavy metals=E2=80=94particularly <BR>
mercury=E2=80=94and autism. Dr. Buttar discussed the chelation therapy he had <BR=
>
offered his own son, who had a profound developmental delay and is now <BR>
an example of how autism can be fully and permanently reversed in some <BR>
children. Dr. Nash was one of a number of experts who joined with Rep. <BR>
Burton=E2=80=99s House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and <BR>
Wellness to refute the findings published in the Institute of Medicine <BR>
(IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee's Vaccines and Autism report <BR=
>
of May 18, 2004. In that report, the eighth and final in a series <BR>
designed to examine the safety of vaccines that contain thimerosal, the <BR=
>
IOM Committee concluded, &quot;The body of epidemiological evidence favors =
<BR>
the rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing <BR>
vaccines and autism,=E2=80=9D even though the Committee had in a 2001 report <BR>
called such a causal relationship, =E2=80=9Cbiologically plausible.=E2=80=9D The <BR>
Committee based its final conclusions on their review of approximately <BR>
10 previously conducted epidemiological studies. Of those roughly 10 <BR>
studies, 5 reported probable links between thimerosal-containing <BR>
vaccines and autism, yet those 5 were summarily dismissed because the <BR>
Committee determined the manner in which they were conducted was <BR>
flawed. At that time, Rep. Burton stated, =E2=80=9CI believe the [IOM] findings <=
BR>
are heavily biased, and unrepresentative of all the available <BR>
scientific and medical research. I think it is highly irresponsible for <BR=
>
the IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee to purport definitive <BR>
findings to the American public, which are based on selective <BR>
scientific studies that are greatly flawed to begin with.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
The NIH describes chelation is a chemical process in which a substance <BR>
is used to bind molecules, such as metals or minerals, and hold them <BR>
tightly so that they can be removed from a system, such as the body. In <BR=
>
medicine, says the NIH, chelation has been scientifically proven to rid <BR=
>
the body of excess or toxic metals. For example, a person who has lead <BR>
poisoning may be given chelation therapy in order to bind and remove <BR>
excess lead from the body before it can cause damage. Chelation therapy <BR=
>
has been a keystone of Dr. Buttar=E2=80=99s treatment program, with which he <BR>
has reported great success in improving the prospects for autistic <BR>
children. His Advanced Concepts in Medicine clinic specializes in <BR>
treating cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions in patients <BR=
>
refractory to conventional treatments, with a special emphasis on the <BR>
interrelationship between metal toxicity and insidious disease <BR>
processes. With his newfound conviction that every chronic disease is <BR>
related to toxicity, Dr. Buttar=E2=80=99s treatment philosophy is likely to <BR>
take on even greater significance. As he puts it, =E2=80=9CThese aren=E2=80=99t my <BR>
theories, these things have been out there. What we have done is taken <BR>
that hypothesis and figured out how to remove those toxins. The problem <BR=
>
is the simplicity of it makes most people say it can=E2=80=99t be=E2=80=94it=E2=80=99s more <=
BR>
complicated.=E2=80=9D Dr. Buttar does not limit toxicity to only metal and <BR>
chemical pollutants, however. He categorizes toxins into five groups, <BR>
of which the first three, he says, are measurable, with the last two <BR>
being =E2=80=9Cmore esoteric=E2=80=9D:<BR>
<BR>
1. Metals =E2=80=93 The CDC list of metal pollutants includes<BR>
 &nbsp;Antimony<BR>
 &nbsp;Barium<BR>
 &nbsp;Beryllium<BR>
 &nbsp;Cadmium<BR>
 &nbsp;Cesium<BR>
 &nbsp;Cobalt<BR>
 &nbsp;Lead<BR>
 &nbsp;Mercury<BR>
 &nbsp;Molybdenum<BR>
 &nbsp;Platinum<BR>
 &nbsp;Tungsten<BR>
 &nbsp;Thallium<BR>
 &nbsp;Uranium<BR>
<BR>
2. Organic pollutants =E2=80=93 benzines, hydrocarbons, etc.=C2 <BR>
<BR>
3. Opportunistics =E2=80=93 bacteria, virus, yeast; these need an opportunity <BR=
>
to set up house, and find it in immune systems damaged from toxicity <BR>
groups 1 and 2.<BR>
<BR>
4. Energy =E2=80=93 electromagnetics cause a disruption in our resonance; <BR>
microwaves are the most dangerous.<BR>
<BR>
5. Spiritual, psychological, emotional =E2=80=93 someone who is not =E2=80=9Cwhole,=E2=80=9D =
<BR>
lacking something. Explains Dr. Buttar, =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve gotten cancer patients <=
BR>
to the point that everything is fine, but their =E2=80=98time is up=E2=80=99; patients =
<BR>
who on autopsy show no evidence of cancer, but still died.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Nash noted in =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine=E2=80=9D that the effects of toxicant <BR=
>
metals on human health have been reported in peer-reviewed literature <BR>
with increasing frequency; they are present in many diseases of aging, <BR>
especially vascular diseases. And though historical experience of <BR>
toxicologists who treated individuals poisoned by acutely toxicant <BR>
metals is waning=E2=80=94very few of these cases have been reported during the <B=
R>
past 30 years in the U.S.=E2=80=94researchers with a special interest in <BR>
clinical metal toxicology have noticed a clinical correlation between <BR>
metal detoxification by chelation therapy and clinical improvement of <BR>
vascular diseases.<BR>
<BR>
In 2002, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine <BR=
>
(NCCAM) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), both <BR=
>
components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced the <BR>
Trial To Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT). TACT is the first <BR>
large-scale, multicenter study to determine the safety and efficacy of <BR>
EDTA chelation therapy for individuals with coronary artery disease <BR>
(CAD), the most common form of heart disease.. The principal <BR>
investigator for the trial is Gervasio A. Lamas, M.D., director of <BR>
cardiovascular research and academic affairs at Mount Sinai Medical <BR>
Center-Miami Heart Institute, Miami &nbsp;Beach, a board-certified <BR>
cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at University of <BR>
Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Nash is serving on the NIH Data and <BR>
Safety Management Board of the study=E2=80=94=E2=80=9CI am one of seven on the panel to=
 <BR>
oversee this study, for safety reasons,=E2=80=9D he says. Investigators <BR>
enrolled the first participants in September 2003. The study will take <BR>
approximately five years to complete.<BR>
<BR>
Dr. Nash says he can only speak with authority on metal detoxification, <BR=
>
but in his view, the =E2=80=9Cbig 4=E2=80=9D metal toxins are lead, mercury, arsenic, <=
BR>
and cadmium. =E2=80=9CAll four are easily detected by provoked urine testing,=E2=80=9D =
<BR>
says Dr. Nash. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re finding in excess of 95 percent of the population=
 <BR>
over 50 has large amounts of toxic metals in the body when provoked <BR>
urine testing is performed.=E2=80=9D The treatment he recommends is to detoxify <=
BR>
the body of these metals. Dr. Nash hopes the group of professionals to <BR>
which he belongs, called clinical metal toxicologists, can provide <BR>
better disease management by using a new standard of preventive care. <BR>
=E2=80=9CLook at the cost of treatment. Most of the cost=E2=80=94up to 60 percent of <B=
R>
Medicare=E2=80=94goes to heroic efforts during the last six months of life. <BR>
Most of us feel that money should be spent on true diagnosis as well as <BR=
>
better disease management. We feel that we need to detoxify as best we <BR>
can, and provide patients with adequate micro and macro dietary intake <BR>
to provide building blocks to build up their own immune systems.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
Of particular concern to those treating the diseases of aging is the <BR>
possible connection between mercury and Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease. Dr. Nash <BR=
>
notes, =E2=80=9CSome of the [mercurous] vapors [from dental amalgams] reach the <=
BR>
brain via the ethmoid sinuses. Is it coincidental that Alzheimer=E2=80=99s <BR>
disease has shown degenerative tracts often following the olfactory <BR>
connections?=E2=80=A6There is increasing evidence of mercury associated with <BR>
Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease. Dr. Boyd Haley, Chairman of the Department of <BR>
Biochemistry, University &nbsp;of Kentucky, has published multiple papers o=
n <BR>
his research since the late 1980s. He has successfully reproduced the <BR>
changes seen in Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease in the brain homogenate of normal <BR=
>
brains with the addition of mercury, in the form of both mercury <BR>
chloride and thimerosal.=E2=80=9D Some people hypothesize that mercury may <BR>
contribute to autism on one end of the lifespan and Alzheimer=E2=80=99s on the <B=
R>
other end, Dr. Nash told us. =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m not convinced that mercury is the <BR=
>
sole cause, but other factors may be involved. It could be a genetic <BR>
thing. It appears there is a third of the people who are genetically <BR>
prone to not getting rid of the metals, who may be most susceptible for <BR=
>
Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease.=E2=80=9D In his article, Dr. Nash goes on to conclude, <BR=
>
=E2=80=9CThe work of Haley, Aposhian, Godfrey, and others makes a strong case <BR=
>
that mercury may cause or at the very least exacerbate Alzheimer=E2=80=99s <BR>
disease. Studies looking at toxic metals, especially mercury, as a <BR>
possible cause for Alzheimer=E2=80=99s disease need to be conducted. The <BR>
clinical metal toxicologists have clinical experience that early metal <BR>
detoxification will often stabilize and even reverse early Alzheimer=E2=80=99s <B=
R>
disease. More research is needed.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
As with other integrative practitioners, Dr. Nash sees the necessity <BR>
for a fundamental change in the way medicine approaches disease. =E2=80=9CWe <BR>
need to find out what is causative of diseases of aging. This will take <BR=
>
time, but we have not had an adequate prevention of diseases. Most <BR>
patients who see doctors do not have diseases, they have symptoms. <BR>
Doctors know symptoms don=E2=80=99t kill folks, but they placate patients with <B=
R>
medications to ease symptoms. The mechanism is straightforward; in the <BR>
clinical setting you can shift the physician=E2=80=99s mindset from only <BR>
treating the symptoms of disease, to understand that these diseases <BR>
have correlates that we have never recognized.=E2=80=9D Dr. Nash believes that <B=
R>
recognition of causative factors of disease is a trend that is <BR>
spreading worldwide. In =E2=80=9CMetals in Medicine=E2=80=9D he concludes,<BR>
<BR>
=E2=80=9CToxicant metals are increasingly being associated with multiple <BR>
disease states=E2=80=A6The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) <BR>
have authorized payment for in-office, intravenous metals <BR>
detoxification in the District &nbsp;of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Texas=
, <BR>
and Virginia, as well as the Indian Health Service. This is a great <BR>
opportunity to collect meaningful data directly from patients. It is <BR>
known that dialysis can be delayed at least two or three years by <BR>
repeated in-office, intravenous metals detoxification; it is hoped that <BR=
>
all prospective dialysis patients would be tested for toxicant metals <BR>
and treated appropriately. If detoxification of toxicant metals can <BR>
become the standard in time, our health may improve markedly. Could <BR>
toxicant metals be a diagnosable and treatable risk factor in many of <BR>
the diseases affecting this nation? The clinical metal toxicologists <BR>
are the experts in low-dose, chronic accumulation of toxicant metals <BR>
and the symptomatic reversal observed with treatment. Many clinical <BR>
metal toxicologists are participating in the NIH=E2=80=99s TACT study. More <BR>
research is needed in the basic science mechanisms of toxicant metals <BR>
and common diseases. Additional clinical research, besides the TACT <BR>
study, is also needed.=E2=80=9D<BR>
<BR>
=E2=80=9CI believe toxicant metals and their detection and detoxification will <B=
R>
be one of the exciting new fields in medicine. I have great hope for <BR>
the future of medicine,=E2=80=9D adds Dr. Nash.=C2 <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
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