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EDTA Chelation Therapy
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© Copyright B. V. Gokhale
EDTA chelation therapy is a quite simple, very safe, unbelievably effective intravenous medical
procedure that is also inexpensive when compared to competing surgeries. Since it very heavily
dents into the medical business it is not liked by the medical cartel. On the contrary many
blame It so patients do not turn to it and get well in about 30%
cost.
A chelator is an organic chemical. Its molecules have the ability
to attract and bind with bivalent and trivalent metallic cations.
In EDTA Chelation therapy a chelator named Ethylene Diamine
Tetraacetic Acid is intravenously infused in a patient’s body
through a carrier solution, along with vitamins and minerals.
The process of introducing the contents of the infusion bottle in
a patient’s body is called an infusion or drip. The infusions
usually last about 3 hrs. But in case of some old or kidney
disease patients, it can take longer. Therefore, barring very few
instances, there is no need to get admitted into a hospital or Figure 1.1
nursing home for the treatment. Thus the infusion is given in
doctor’s office or a side room.
Depending upon the disease and its severity, 30 or more
infusions may have to be administered to a patient. Generally
health improvements are more with more infusions.
While undergoing the treatment patients sit on reclining chairs
as shown in Figure 1.1. The trauma caused is easily bearable. Figure 1.2
Patients can read, talk, watch TV or even eat while the
treatment is being given. After the infusion, a patient can travel
back to his house even by driving his motorcycle.
To facilitate infusion of the mixture from the bottle into the
patient’s vein, a needle of a scalp vein is pricked into patient’s
vein, as shown in Figure 1.2. Depending upon the need, veins at
other places on the arm or even legs are chosen for the vein
puncture.
The tube that carries the mixture from the bottle to the scalp
vein is called infusion line and is shown in Figure 1.3. Regulator
wheel of the infusion line enables controlling the fluid infusion Figure 1.3
rate as needed.
If a patient has to go to wash room during the infusion, the scalp vein can be detached from
the infusion line and closed so the patient can go to washroom. Upon his return the scalp vein
can be reconnected to the infusion line.
AS EDTA has a structure of an amino acid – the like of which are abundantly present in human
body – it is very safe and causes no adverse events/effects.
The weight of the chelator to be infused is calculated on the basis of patient’s sex, weight,
height, age and kidney function.
A bottle of 500 ml carrier solution is used unless the patient can not tolerate this volume. In
such case 250 ml bottle is used. Most commonly used carrier solutions are sterile water or NS
or 5D or HNS.
EDTA Chelation therapy can be given to a patient of age 15 to even 95. In younger patients it is
avoided because their body building processes are different than adults. In older patients it is
avoided because their body is severely degenerated and EDTA Chelation therapy may prove
more traumatic with only a little benefit.
For many patients EDTA Chelation drips can be given twice a week. For old or weak patients
this frequency is reduced to once a week. For patients with kidney disease it can even be once
in a fortnight.
EDTA Chelation therapy acts by detoxification. Once the detoxification and subsequent healing
process is over by taking 30 or so infusions, it is advisable to take an infusion once in two to
four months so the body detoxification status is maintained.
There is no specific limit on the number of infusions that can be taken by an individual. Many
patients have taken more than 200 infusions. The known record is 437 infusions. Some
physicians claim to have taken over 1000 infusions because if a patient for whom an infusion
bottle is prepared does not turn up the physician uses the drip for himself.
The usual composition of the contents of EDTA chelation infusion are as shown in Table 1.1
Dr. Garry Gordon, one of the founders of American Academy for Medical Preventics and
practicing EDTA chelation therapy for more nearly 50 has stated,
“Every human being today would live longer, be more intelligent have a higher
level of health, and respond better to any medicine, drug, or surgery, if they
choose to follow an EDTA chelation therapy program.”
This is very true because after the extreme detoxification achieved by EDTA chelation therapy
the repair mechanism of the body starts improvements from all the possible sides and almost
Table 1.1 – Contents of EDTA Chelation Infusion
Carrier Solution It is needed to dilute the concentrations of all the other ingredients, to allow slow and accurately controlled
infusion rates and to enable adjusting osmolarity of the mixture.
Na2 EDTA It is the main ingredient in the infusion responsible for most of the therapeutic effects.
MgCl2 It is very useful in forming about 300 enzymes.
NaHCO3 It is needed to reduce pain by reducing the acidity of the blood.
KCl It is needed to replenish loss of potassium.
Lignocaine It is needed to reduce pain in the vein.
Heparin It is needed to prevent formation of clot at the tip of the needle.
Thiamin It is needed to help in subsequent metabolic processes.
Pantothenic Acid It is needed to help in subsequent metabolic processes.
Pyridoxine It is needed to help in subsequent metabolic processes.
every ailment is reduced by some degree.
Dr. Julian Whitaker M.D. says,
“Many cardiologists may tell angina patients: ‘If you do not have heart surgery,
you are going to die. There is no alternative.’ In most cases, this is simply not
true. For most patients, there is a safer, more effective, less expensive
alternative. That is EDTA Chelation therapy.”
How EDTA act in human body can be explained as in Table 1.2:
EDTA chelation therapy has been practiced for over 60 years now. Hundreds of researchers
Calcium, which is useful for the body during its first 25 to 30 EDTA binds to the calcium cations from rough nano bacterial
years, is routinely consumed in later years. Without much use layers on the inner arterial walls and takes them to kidneys.
it accumulate in the body and creates rough nano bacterial There both EDTA and calcium cation bound to it are removed.
layers on the inner walls of the arteries, creates blockages by This smoothens the inner surface of the arteries.
calcium deposition under the endothelium and stiffens the The calcium deficiency created in blood plasma causes
arteries by entering into the arterial walls. All these factors secretion of para-thormone hormone. It helps in reducing
reduce the flow of blood to every part of the body to accelerate arterial blockages as well as reduces arterial stiffness.
the degeneration process. All the above three factors improve blood flow to every cell of
Calcium deposition chocks up the tiny blood vessels in human the body to reduce body degeneration.
body. These are very vital in ensuring blood supply to cells.
The deposition process is very slow in youth and becomes
rapid by the fifth decade of human life.
Disrupted metabolic processes in human body generate free When cations of excessive iron and copper are removed the
radicals. These electrically unstable organic molecules generation of free radicals is very low and the damage caused
damage body cells in many ways. Cations of some metals, by such free radicles to the body is also very low.
particularly iron and copper, when not used appropriately, act
as catalyst in these rancid processes.
When the bivalent iron in the hemoglobin contained in red EDTA has second highest affinity to trivalent iron. Therefore, it
blood cells gets converted in in trivalent iron the oxygen very effectively removes the trivalent iron from hemoglobin.
carrying capacity of the blood cells is reduced greatly. This This increase oxygen carrying ability of the blood.
disease, fatal under some conditions is called
methemoglobinemia.
Table 1.2 – Actions of EDTA in Disease Reversal
Cause of Disease Role of EDTA in Disease Reversal
Metallic cations, which enter human body through atmospheric EDTA binds the metal cations and takes them to kidneys along
air that we breathe, food we eat, fluids that we drink, spread with it. There both EDTA and metal cation bound to it are
throughout the body and try to enter the cells. The defense excreted through urine. After such detoxified status body cells
mechanism of the cells produce enzymes and protect regain their efficiency to improve the functionality of the organ.
themselves. In the process of such self-defense the cells are Removal of cations of cobalt and cadmium leads to improved
unable to do their assigned function in efficient manner. blood pumping.
Cations of some metals, particularly cobalt and cadmium get
lodged in heart muscles. This reduces elasticity of heart
muscles and consequent inability of the heart in pumping the
blood. This condition is called cardiomyopathy.
Calcium, which is useful for the body during its first 25 to 30 EDTA binds to the calcium cations from rough nano bacterial
years, is routinely consumed in later years. Without much use it layers on the inner arterial walls and takes them to kidneys.
accumulate in the body and creates rough nano bacterial layers There both EDTA and calcium cation bound to it are removed.
on the inner walls of the arteries, creates blockages by calcium This smoothens the inner surface of the arteries.
deposition under the endothelium and stiffens the arteries by The calcium deficiency created in blood plasma causes
entering into the arterial walls. All these factors reduce the flow secretion of para-thormone hormone. It helps in reducing
of blood to every part of the body to accelerate the arterial blockages as well as reduces arterial stiffness.
degeneration process. All the above three factors improve blood flow to every cell of
Calcium deposition chocks up the tiny blood vessels in human the body to reduce body degeneration.
body. These are very vital in ensuring blood supply to cells.
The deposition process is very slow in youth and becomes
rapid by the fifth decade of human life.
Valves in the heart are meant to open and close appropriately Calcium deposited in the valves is removed by EDTA. After
and ensure that they allow blood supply in only the forward this the valves open and close appropriately to stop blood flow
direction. Calcium can accumulate in these valves, due to in backward direction.
which they do not open and close appropriately. This causes Thus blood flow in the right direction is restored.
backward blood flow and consequent reduction in blood supply.
Disrupted metabolic processes in human body generate free When cations of excessive iron and copper are removed the
radicals. These electrically unstable organic molecules damage generation of free radicals is very low and the damage caused
body cells in many ways. Cations of some metals, particularly by such free radicles to the body is also very low.
iron and copper, when not used appropriately, act as catalyst in
these rancid processes.
When the bivalent iron in the hemoglobin contained in red EDTA has second highest affinity to trivalent iron. Therefore, it
blood cells gets converted in in trivalent iron the oxygen very effectively removes the trivalent iron from hemoglobin.
carrying capacity of the blood cells is reduced greatly. This This increase oxygen carrying ability of the blood.
disease, fatal under some conditions is called
methemoglobinemia.
have kept records of the improvements experienced by patients in various diseases. From all
such records it has been observed that EDTA chelation proves to be highly successful in
alleviating symptoms of diseases mentioned in Table 1.4.
Apart from the diseases mentioned in Table 1.3 and 1.4, it has also been noticed that EDTA
chelation therapy has given success in the treatment of diseases mentioned in Table 1.5.
Table 1.3 – Effects of EDTA Chelation Therapy on Human Body
Improves bone density Improves heart valve function
Improves brain function Improves kidney function
Improves facial complexion Improves liver function
Improves heart function Improves mental health indices
Improves physiological indices Improves vision
Improves pulmonary function Decomposes some snake and spider venoms
Increases blood platelet count Increases cell toxin excretion ability
Normalizes cholesterol/HDL ratio Normalizes heart rhythm
Protects cell membrane Reduces angina pain
Reduces arterial blockage Reduces oxidative stress
Reduces arterial stiffness Reduces platelet stickiness
Reduces chances of heart attack Reduces risk of contracting cancer
Reduces heart rate Reduces systolic blood pressure
Reduces joint pain Reduces tendency of spasms
Reduces need for insulin Relieves or reduces body pain
EDTA chelation therapy is either hatefully discarded or totally neglected in medical field. It is
not taught in any stream of medicine be it allopathy, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy etc.
In order that doctors should learn to give the therapy safely and Participant Type Nos.
effectively to patients and reverse their disease conditions, I have Cardiologists 6
Surgeons 7
been conducting two day training courses of EDTA chelation and
Medical Professor 5
other synergistic therapies such as intravenous hydrogen Specialist Doctors 44
peroxide, ozone and nutritional medicine since the year 2010. Graduate Doctors 139
Total 201
These training courses have been attended by participants as
listed in adjoining table.
While all the participants appreciated almost every aspect of my training course and the safety
and efficacy of the therapies covered in the training, more than100 of the doctors have actually
put the therapy in practice and have continued with it because of its extreme safety and
unbelievable efficacy.
In case you want to participate in the training course and start practicing the therapies it please
inquire on mobile number 9619436706.
——X—X—X——
2 Is EDTA Chelation Therapy Safe?
Dr. Bhalchandra Gokhale — B. Tech., M. Tech. (IIT Bombay), PhD. (A.M.) with Specialization in EDTA Chelation Therapy
EDTA chelation therapy is in fact exceedingly safe. Following are the supportive arguments.
1 The drugs mixed in EDTA chelation infusion are EDTA i.e. Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic acid,
Magnesium Chloride or Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Chloride,
Vitamin B1, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, small quantities of Heparin and Lignocaine. Sometimes
L-Carnitine and N Acetyl Cysteine are also mixed. The mixture is safe a the drugs do not
interact with each other.
All these drugs are approved by US FDA and other regulating authorities.
2 Endorsement to the safety of EDTA chelation therapy was given after their specific research
to assess safety of EDTA by Meltzer and Kitchell as early as 1962. They said,
“Two thousand consecutive infusions of disodium EDTA were given to 81 subjects
in a study of the effectiveness of this therapy in coronary artery disease during a
2-year period. We have found no serious side effect or toxicity with the use of
disodium EDTA, when administered as a 3 g dose and infused as 0.5% solution
over 2 1/2 to 3 hours. It is, therefore, our opinion that the drug can be used
without danger over prolonged period.”
The most serious side effect ascribed to this agent has been nephrotoxicity, but with the
administration method described here there has been no evidence of such damage."
3 Data about safety of EDTA chelation therapy, collected by the TACT team, from the
unpublished data of Danish Study, PATCH Study and PACT Study is given in Table 2.1. It
conclusively proves that EDTA chelation therapy is safe.
Table 2.1 – Safety Related Data Collected by TACT Investigators
Adverse Event Danish PATCH PACT
No of Patients 153 84 30
Death 0 0 0
MI 0 1 0
Stroke 1 0 0
Renal Insufficiency 7 1 0
Arrhythmia 0 0 1
Doubled Liver Enzyme 0 0 1
Visual / Hearing Impairment 0 0 0
Back Pain 1 0 1
Attitude towards EDTA Chelation Negative Negative Unbiased
4 In yet another research carried out recently by the TACT team before they started the TACT
i.e. Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy, the therapy was once again found to be very safe. In
this research the researchers measured the blood parameters of patients after giving them
EDTA chelation drips. What they found is shown in Table 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4.
Apart from the tables following points are also of great importance in assessing safety of EDTA
chelation therapy.
Table 2.2 - Change of Blood Parameters Observed in 30 PACT Patients Under EDTA Chelation
Infusion no. Creatinine Glucose Haematocrit Magnesium Platelet Count Potassium
Baseline 1.1 ± 0.2 99.4 ± 34.1 40.0 ± 8.5 1.9 ± 0.5 203.8 ± 69.3 4.4 ± 0.6
2 1.1 ± 0.2 117.1± 34.1 40.7 ± 3.4 1.9 ± 0.5 207.8 ± 57.4 4.4 ± 0.6
5 1.1 ± 0.2 113.7± 38.6 40.0 ± 3.8 2.1 ± 0.3 202.8 ± 55.2 4.4 ± 0.6
10 1.0 ± 0.2 109.2± 34.8 39.2 ± 3.8 1.8 ± 0.5 201.9 ± 40.0 4.4 ± 0.6
14 1.1 ± 0.2 113.2± 36.9 40.0 ± 4.2 2.1 ± 0.3 211.3± 47.3 4.6 ± 1.0
Table 2.3 - Pulse Rate Variation in 30 Patients After 14 Successive Infusions in PACT
P t . Before Infu- During Infu- After Infusion Pt. Before Infu- During Infu- After Infusion
No. sion sion No. sion sion
1 64.9 ±9.3 63.2 ±8.8 64.2 ±8.5 9 66.7 ±8.2 63.7 ±7.0 65.2 ±8.2
2 65.8 ±10.1 63.3 ±9.2 63.8 ±9.0 10 67.1 ±8.1 65.8 ±6.7 66.0 ±7.3
3 66.8 ±10.6 64.2 ±8.7 64.4 ±8.8 11 66.3 ±8.3 64.0 ±8.5 65.6 ±8.4
4 68.8 ±13.5 67.5 ±13.0 66.5 ±12.6 12 67.5 ±9.8 64.0 ±7.3 64.5 ±8.7
5 68.3 ±10.4 66.6 ±8.7 66.4 ±9.0 13 65.9 ±7.8 63.6 ±8.6 65.0 ±12.8
6 69.0 ±13.8 65.9 ±12.6 67.4 ±12.5 14 64.7 ±8.1 64.7 ±8.1 63.9 ±6.2
7 67.4 ±10.6 63.9 ±9.6 64.0 ±8.4 15 66.3 ±8.7 65.4 ±7.8 65.9 ±9.7
8 67.7 ±8.7 64.3 ±7.5 65.5 ±8.0
Table 2.4 - Initial and Final Test Results of Some Blood Praameters of 10 PACT Patients
Patient No. Calcium AST (i. e. SGOT) ALT ( i. e. SGPT)
Before After Before After Before After
1 9.5 9.2 - - - -
2 10.4 9.8 27 32 33 35
3 9.4 9.3 - - - -
4 9.3 9.4 17 21 23 24
5 9.7 9.6 27 29 23 25
6 9 8.9 20 21 14 19
7 9.2 10 22 66 20 130
8 9.5 9.7 19 22 27 28
9 8.8 8.5 - - - -
10 8.9 8.9 27 22 32 27
Mean and SD 9.38±0.47 9.33±0.47 21.89±4.27 30.42±16.28 24.57±6.7 41.14±39.48
6 The information previously given in the sections dealing with side effects, treatment
discomforts and particularly extremely rare but serious side effects proves beyond doubt
that EDTA Chelation therapy is very safe.
7 LD50 value is considered as a good indicator of safety of a drug. On the basis of this
indicator, EDTA is far safer than many commonly used drugs.
8 LD50 values of different drugs are: EDTA - 1900 mg/kg, Ethyl Alcohol – 1225 mg/kg, Aspirin
– 420 mg/kg, Tetracyclin – 320 mg/kg, Digoxin – 3.7 mg/kg.
This means that EDTA is about five times safer than Aspirin and five hundred times safer
than digoxin.
9 The very fact that more and more persons are opting for EDTA Chelation therapy, indirectly
means that it is safe.
10 US FDA is an organization that has consistently taken anti chelation stand due to influence
their masters viz. pharma companies. In the year 1978 FDA, in fact, made an unsuccessful
attempt to ban EDTA chelation therapy. It was thwarted by Court battle of Ray Evers.
US FDA was asked in 2013,
“How many people have died as a result of receiving edetate disodium?”
FDA reply was,
“FDA has received reports of 11 deaths associated with the use of edetate
disodium. These deaths were reported over the time period from 1971 through
2007. Most recently, two reports were received in 2003, two reports in 2005 and
one report was received in 2007. Nine of the deaths were reported following the
administration of edetate disodium (by its specific name).“
The answer does not reveal that these deaths were in 2,000,000 patients i.e. virtually zero
mortality. Further, the cause of death was that in all the cases disodium EDTA was used by
presuming it to be calcium disodium EDTA which can be given very rapidly.
12 In the year 1984 AAMP (i.e. American Academy of Medical Preventics) and ICRF (i.e.
International Chelation Research Foundation) proposed a trial of EDTA Chelation therapy
for peripheral vascular disease. Organizations like AMA, AHA opposed this trial on the
ground of safety. US FDA gave them three months to prove their claims. They could not do
so. Thereafter USFDA gave GRAS i.e. “Generally Regarded As Safe" status to EDTA.
13 Disodium EDTA is a drug already approved by USFDA for hypercalcemia and digitalis
toxicity. It means EDTA is a safe drug because there cannot be a drug which is safe only
when the patient has one of the indicated diseases for that drug and is toxic otherwise.
Therefore EDTA is a safe drug.
14 Every US drug manufacturer has to get a material safety data sheet (i.e. MSDS) for their
Table 2.5 - Safety Related Data of Disodium EDTA
Safety Aspect Details Pertaining to Disodium EDTA
Health hazard ratings 1 - Slight
Inflammability hazard ratings 1 - Slight
Reactivity hazard ratings 0 - None
Contact hazard ratings 1 - Slight
Effect of inhalation Mild irritant. Symptoms may include coughinng or sneezing
Effect of ingestion Low toxicity by ingestion. Large amounts may cause gastric upset due to reduction in
osmolity resulting from sequestering of metal ions from the gastric fluid.
Effect of skin contact Mild irritant. Symptoms may include reddening or inflammation on prolonged contact.
Effect of contact with eyes No adverse effect expected but dust may cause mechanical irritation.
Chronic exposure No adverse effect expected
Aggrieviation of pre existing conditions No adverse effect expected
Handling instructions Wear protective clothing and clean body- covering clothing.Use chemical safety
goggles. Maintain eye wash fountain and quick- drench facilities in work area.
Corrective action in case of EDTA Even if EDTA is relatively non-hazardous substance and does not easily get
splash on body. absorbed through skin its splash on the body must be dealt with wasing the splash
with clean water. For washing eyes distilled water must be used.
drug approved by USFDA and publish it. Such a data sheet for their "EDTA, Disodium Salt,
Dihydrate" published by Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. USA is shown in Figure 2.5. It
confirms that all the hazard ratings, viz. health, inflammability, reactivity and contact, of
their Na2EDTA are either none or slight. It also confirms that no adverse events or no
aggravation of pre-existing conditions are expected by chronic exposure of the drug’.
——X—X—X——
3 Is EDTA Chelation Therapy Effective?
Dr. Bhalchandra Gokhale — B. Tech., M. Tech. (IIT Bombay), PhD. (A.M.) with Specialization in EDTA Chelation Therapy
EDTA chelation therapy has been found to be beneficial in all types of vascular diseases, viz.
coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, cerebral vascular disease, diabetic
gangrene. In these diseases not only the success rate but also the extent of improvement is
high. Kidney disease is also highly indicated.
Improvement is experienced in many other diseases also, but with lower success rate or lower
extent of improvement.
The first use of EDTA for medical treatment reportedly occurred in the year 1946 at the
University of Zurich.
In the year 1947, EDTA was used by Geschikter for removal of causative nickel from the body of
a breast cancer patient. In the same year, it was also approved by FDA as a safe food additive.
In the same year, EDTA was used for eliminating kidney stones by doctors at Walter Reed
Medical Center, USA.
Also in the same year, Martin Rubin explored use of EDTA for calcium chelation and anti-
coagulation of blood. After the success in this research, EDTA was approved for use in lavender
-top tubes used for blood sample collection.
Abbott Laboratory started producing EDTA for medical uses.
In the year 1952, Rubin and Belknup successfully used EDTA chelation as a treatment for lead
poisoning. This research led to FDA approval of EDTA for lead toxicity treatment in 1953.
In the same year 1952, Herta Spencer used Na2EDTA for the first time for treatment of
hypercalcemia.
In the year 1953, Sidbury, Bynum and Fetz conducted research to compare administration of
EDTA through intravenous and oral tract.
In the year 1956, Clarke published the results of his study of EDTA chelation therapy treatment
given to 20 patients suffering from cardiovascular disease of whom 16 had unstable angina.
After the treatment,17 patients were completely relieved of angina. Of these 16 remained
asymptomatic for 21 months and ECG anomalies were normalized in 33% of them.
Clarke continued his research and published results of another study of 76 patients in 1960.
After the treatment 66 patients experienced 90 to 100% relief from angina. In those days
commonly encountered 2 year mortality rate was 23.6%. In the EDTA Chelation treatment
patients Clarke found it to be only 13%. In about 20% patients angina reappeared but was
resolved by maintenance doses taken periodically after the completion of main treatment.
In the year 1960, Kitchell and Meltzer published their research of study of 10 patients suffering
with cardiovascular disease. Of these, 6 had MI. After the treatment 9 had relief from angina.
ECG of 5 out of these 9 showed improvement. Dilated cardiomyopathy of all the three patients
improved and their heart size became normal.
Research in coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and cerebrovascular diseaseis
summarized in Table 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 respectively.
Table 3.1— Research and Success of EDTA Chelation Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease
Table 3.2— Research and Success of EDTA Chelation Therapy in Peripheral Vascular Disease
In the year 2005, Table 3.3— Research and Success of EDTA Chelation Therapy in Cerebrovascular Disease
Blaha R., Born T.,
and Chappell T.,
published their
findings based
on the study of
three year
follow up of 220
patients who
were suffering
from coronary
artery disease.
These patients
had undergone EDTA chelation therapy during a period from 1992 to 2001.
The researchers also compared health statistics of these patients with approximately equal
number of patients with equivalent severity of coronary artery disease in each category viz.
those who remained only on conventional medicines or got treated through angioplasty (i.e.
PTCA) or underwent bypass surgery (i.e. CABG).
The study is very important because it gives a direct comparison between the four modes of
treatment viz. only conventional medicines, bypass surgery, angioplasty and EDTA chelation
therapy.
Table 3.4 gives the comparative data.
Table 3.4— Research by Blaha, Born and Chappell that Compared the three Cardiovascular dis-
ease Treatments
Following criteria were observed in patients in 3 year follow up PTCA CABG Medicines Chelation
Heart disease related death after therapy 3.2% 4.0% 1.3% 0.0%
Occurrence of heart attack/ serious incidence 7.3% 7.8% 3.6% 0.0%
Need to turn to angioplasty due to ineffectiveness of treatment 22.3% 5.5% 15.5% 0.9%
Need to turn to bypass surgery due to ineffectiveness of treatment 11.8% 1.2% 4.4% 2.7%
Three year success score of the therapy = 100 - (R2+R3 +R4) 58.6% 85.5% 76.5% 96.4%
From the data gathered in the study following conclusions can be drawn.
1. Stent angioplasty does not seem to be very effective treatment even though it is touted to
be so. While it may be giving immediate relief to the patient in alleviating angina pain it is
not effective in long turn.
2. Conventional cardiovascular drugs have fewer adverse events and may offer longer life.
3. Bypass surgery is more effective than angioplasty and the cadiovascular drug therapy. It
perhaps is the best treatment in relieving patients from their angina.
4. EDTA chelation therapy is the best treatment.
A double blind trial in the domain of peripheral vascular disease was carried out by Olszewer
and Carter in the year 1991. It included 10 patients. These patients developed severe leg pain
after walking only about 100 to 300 m distance. They were randomly divided into two groups
of five patients each.
One group was given drip of 1.5 g disodium EDTA as per the protocol of ACAM and the control
group received all the other ingredients, except EDTA, in their drip. Magnesium was
appropriately added to the drip of control group.
Tests performed after completion of 10 drips of each group revealed that pain free walking
distance of the control group increased to average 1.04x, where x was the pain-free walking
distance before commencement of the treatment. In other words the improvement in the
control group was 4%. In contrast the pain free walking distance of active treatment group
improved to 2.2x, meaning improvement of 120%.
Since all the patients were undergoing therapy at the same place and had lot of time to chat
and know about improvements of each other, they easily came to know who was getting active
treatment and who was getting placebo.
Naturally, those in placebo group desired to shift to active treatment. Thus, the next 10
treatments to all the patients were active.
At the end of completion of treatment those patients who had taken 20 active EDTA chelation
drips had ability of pain free walking to an average of 2.93x, meaning 193% improvement. As
against this, those who had taken 10 placebo and then 10 active EDTA chelation drips,
improved in their pain free walking distance to average 1.96x meaning improvement of 96%.
This is nearly half of those who took 20 active EDTA chelation drips.
These results prove that EDTA chelation therapy is very effective in reversing peripheral
vascular disease.
After suffering from diabetes for a long time, patients succumb to complications of different
types. Most common are diabetic gangrene and diabetic retinopathy. In reality these
complications are actually a type of vascular disease because they all are caused due to
reduced blood flow to the organs. Blood flow improves after EDTA chelation therapy as shown
in Figure 3.1.
In a study by Carlos Lamar, all the fifteen diabetes
type II patients were treated with EDTA chelation
therapy. Three of them had diabetic retinopathy. All
the patients improved after the therapy. Need for
insulin decreased in 7 out of the fifteen patients.
J. Olwin was a vascular surgeon who performed leg
bypass surgeries. In diabetic patients they often
failed and leg amputation was essential. He knew
that amputations do not help patients except that
they reduce chances of serious infection in patients
Figure 3.1
body at the cost of their losing the leg.
During late 1960s Olwin came to know about the benefits of EDTA chelation therapy in
patients with gangrenous limbs. He learnt to administer EDTA chelation therapy and then
treated about 350 diabetic patients with gangrenous legs that according to conventional
medical practice, needed amputation. After the treatment the condition of the legs of the
patients improved so much that none of them needed amputation or leg bypass.
Four patients who developed gangrenous legs tried all of the traditional treatments without
any benefit. They were recommended to undergo leg amputation to save their life. Instead of
surgery they chose to undergo
EDTA chelation therapy under
the supervision of H. Casdorf
and C. Farr. The treatment
proved very successful as their
wounds healed and all the four
avoided the surgery. They
continued to do well during
one year follow up. Graphs in
Figure 3.2 show the date wise
blood flow improvement in
one patient.
Hencke and others in their
Figure 3.2
study of 470 patients, had 27
patients who were advised to undergo leg amputation. After EDTA chelation therapy their leg
condition improved and 24 out of the 27 did not require any type of surgery. Remaining three
were required to get a few fingers of their legs severed through surgery but not the below knee
amputation as recommended earlier.
In the year 2000, H. Holliday made a study of 111 patients having gangrenous legs and
recommended to undergo leg amputation. Of these 22 patients rejected leg amputation and
preferred to undergo EDTA chelation therapy. Other 89 chose to undergo leg amputation.
Later, it was observed that none of the 22 who chose EDTA chelation was required to undergo
leg amputation but 9 out of 89 who had chosen amputation were required to undergo
additional second amputation.
Similarly 75% of the patients
from the chelation group did
not experience any pain in the
legs while resting, as against
64% in the surgically treated
group.
Improvement in gangrenous
toes of Dr. Hahnbaum after
EDTA Chelation treatment is
easily seen in the photographs
in Figure 3.3. Fiure 3.3
We have successfully treated many patients having non healing diabetic wounds. They were
advised to amputate their legs so the infection does not spread to other parts of the body.
Our treatment comprised of : external ozone bagging as shown in the figure; five intravenous
hydrogen peroxide and five EDTA chelation infusions given alternatively and thereafter about 5
to 10 more EDTA chelation infusions as needed. While intravenous hydrogen peroxide killed
the viruses and bacteria, the EDTA chelation infusions improved the blood flow.
Ozone bagging treatment was given because ozone inhibits infection from outside and ample
quantity of oxygen is given to the skin to ensures quick and healthy healing of outer skin.
Photographs of the improvement in the heal of Mrs. Sahsrabuddhe and toe of Mrs. Jog are
shown Figure 3.4 and 3.5.
Dis0dium EDTA chelation therapy was thoroughly researched till about 1964 and was accepted
as a treatment for coronary artery disease as per mention on the package insert of Na2EDTA
made by Abbott Laboratory Inc.
Later, for many reasons described in a separate topic, popularity of EDTA chelation declined
and the more dazzling treatments viz. CABG and later PTCA were developed.
Chelation therapy was virtually forgotten in the decade of 1970s but later in 1980s courageous
doctors like Ray Evers, Rogers, McDonagh etc. used it to cure CAD and many vascular diseases.
Despite several attempts of anti-chelation lobby to blame, banish and bury EDTA chelation
therapy, its popularity grew tremendously in the period 1980 to 1995. More and more persons
started turning to the therapy by spending their own money in absence of any insurance
reimbursement.
In 1998, patients, who were benefitted by chelation therapy but did not get medical
reimbursement and the doctors who practiced chelation therapy made forceful appeal to US
Government.
Governmental Committee headed by Senator Burton and other members heard arguments by
both pro and anti-chelation groups.
Proponents of the therapy presented many evidences. But the members of anti-chelation lobby
kept on saying that the evidences are anecdotal and inconclusive. When asked to prove their
belief that EDTA chelation therapy is hazardous and ineffective the members could not give any
evidence but merely kept on reiterating that no large double blind controlled trial has been
conducted to prove safety and efficacy. The largest trial till then consisted of only 153 patients
in which the conclusions were fraudulently twisted against EDTA chelation therapy.
It became very clear to the committee that EDTA chelation therapy appears to be safe and
effective but should be proven by a large trial. Thus, a large trial was proposed and was named
TACT.
TACT is an acronym of Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy.
TACT commenced in 2003 and was completed in 2012. The results were very briefly declared in
the annual meeting of American Heart Association on November 4, 2012.
TACT is probably the most important milestone in the history of EDTA chelation therapy,
because right from 1965 an incorrect concept was developed in the minds of medical
community that EDTA chelation is ineffective.
Contrary to such belief the results have proved, that EDTA chelation therapy is exceedingly safe
and unbelievably effective, at least to open minded doctors.
It was a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial.
It has been termed as gigantic because no other previous trial of chelation therapy included
more than 153 patients, whereas, TACT included a total of 1708 enrolled patients.
The objective behind conducting TACT was as under,
“To determine whether chelation or high dose supplements in patients with CHD
will reduce the incidence of clinical cardiovascular events and to determine
whether chelation and high dose supplements have acceptable safety profile.”
It must be borne in mind that the objective of TACT was not to assess if it reduces blockages
and thereby proves effective in reversing coronary artery disease. TACT was not meant to
compare Na2EDTA chelation therapy with PTCA i.e. Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary
Angioplasty, often referred as angioplasty or CABG i.e. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, often
referred as bypass surgery.
The presentation in next few slides is of extreme importance to all those who want to practice
EDTA chelation therapy because the contents will enable them to convince their patients to
undergo the treatment.
National Institute of Health was advised to carry out a large scale trial. Funds of US$ 30 million
were sanctioned by American Government as no pharmaceutical company was willing to assist
the trial.
Request for application to conduct the trial was released on April 30, 2001 by NCCAM (i.e.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) and NHLBI (i.e. National Heart,
Lung and Blood Institute).
The trial was to be completed by 2008 and was to enroll 2372 patients. Mount Sinai Medical
Center was awarded to conduct the trial in August 2002. The planning and execution of the trial
was under the leadership of Gervasio Lamas who was the Principal Investigator.
Since ACAM i.e. American College of Advancement in Medicine had done a lot of research in
the domain of Na2EDTA chelation therapy, they were involved in all the stages of the trial.
The protocol written by Theodore Rozema was to be used in the trial.
The trial started at 134 centers in USA and Canada. Of these 81 centers were run by physicians
experienced in regularly giving EDTA chelation therapy, whereas 53 centers were run by
physicians who did not have any experience in EDTA chelation therapy but were well trained by
chelation experts at ACAM.
Patients were to be divided in four groups and the treatments to be given to each of the group
was one of the following.
Placebo EDTA infusion + Placebo high dose multivitamin
Placebo EDTA infusion + Active high dose multivitamin
Active EDTA infusion + Placebo high dose multivitamin
Active EDTA infusion + Active high dose multivitamin
Each of the enrolled patient was to be given 30 infusions and oral high dose vitamins for 30
weeks and 10 more infusions as needed but in 2 to 8 weeks apart. The active infusion used for
patients consisted of the ingredients mentioned in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 - Ingredients of EDTA Chelation Infusions Used in TACT
Ingredient Quantity Ingredient Quantity
Na2EDTA 3 g or less Pantothenic Acid 100 mg
Ascorbic Acid 7g Thiamin 100 mg
Magnesium Chloride 2g Pyridoxine 100 mg
Potassium Chloride 2 mEq Procaine 100 mg
Sodium Bicarbonate 840 mg Unfractionated Heparin 2500 IU
Sterile Water to 500 cc
Table 4.2 - Ingredients of High Dose Vitamins Used in TACT
Ingredient Quantity Ingredient Quantity Ingredient Quantity
Vitamin A 25000 IU Vitamin B12 100 mcg Manganese 20 mg
Vitamin C 1200 mg Pantothenic Acid 400 mg Chromium 200 mcg
Vitamin D3 100 IU Calcium 500 mg Molybdenum 150 mcg
Vitamin E 400 IU Iodine 150 mcg Potassium 99 mg
Vitamin K1 60 mcg Citrus Bioflavonoids 100 mg Choline 150 mg
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 100 mg Magnesium 500 mg Inositol 50 mg
Niacin (Vit. B3) 200 mg Zinc 20 mg PABA 50 mg
Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) 50 mg Selenium 200 mcg Boron 2 mg
Foliate 800 mcg Copper 2mg Vanadium 39 mcg
The patients in control group were also to be given identically looking but harmless and
ineffective treatment.
The inclusion of high dose vitamins was done to know the effectiveness of Na2EDTA and high
dose multivitamins separately as well as in combination. Six capsules together containing
ingredients in Table 4.2 were to be taken by patients in active high dose vitamin group.
The patients willing to enroll in TACT were carefully selected on the basis of robust inclusion
and exclusion criteria.
The end points for the assessment of EDTA chelation therapy regimen were as under,
Primary End Points - Death on Account of Any Reason, Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Need for
Coronary Revascularization, Hospitalization Due to Angina
Secondary End Points - Cardiovascular Death, MI or Stroke
The data of all the patients was collected in such way that analysis within specific subgroups
will be possible.
In order to establish safety, in addition to collecting safety data from other investigations in
past, a special trial PACT i.e. Pilot to Assess Chelation Therapy was conducted prior to TACT.
Data obtained in PACT, given in Table 3, proved safety of EDTA chelation therapy because
except blood glucose hardly any blood ingredient changed.
TACT progressed at snail's speed. This was because in past anti chelation lobby in USA had
made so much anti chelation propaganda that no one believed the therapy to be of any use to
patients of coronary heart disease. Up to its intended time of completion i.e. year 2008, only
about 1500 patients enrolled in the trial. Only about 22000 infusions were administered to the
patients. Many patients withdrew.
By 2008 when some data became known to anti-chelation lobby they sensed that the trial will
prove the therapy to be safe and effective.
To thwart all resulting possibilities the anti-chelation lobby launched a fierce attack on TACT
through news channels, news papers, journals etc. and called for abandoning the trial without
further continuation or declaring the results.
This really was a storm and for some time it was felt that the trial will really be abandoned.
In a 51 page, peer-reviewed article appearing on May 13, 2008, in the Medscape Journal, K.
Atwood and colleagues wrote:
"The TACT is pointless, dangerous, unethical, and a waste of public funds. It
should be stopped immediately and permanently, and its origin and nature
subjected to an independent, comprehensive inquiry."
They claimed that disodium EDTA chelation is hazardous and dangerous because "Since the mid
-1970s, court documents and newspapers have reported at least 30 deaths associated with IV
disodium EDTA"
The whole article is so flimsy that there is no substance in any of the points mentioned in the
article.
Due to several points raised in the article, the recruitment in the trial was stopped for some
time till Gervasio Lamas, the chief investigator of TACT, and other members of the investigation
team appropriately and effectively countered all the objections and decided to follow up 1700
patients for average 60 months instead of the original 2372 patients for 36cmonths so as o
achieve statistical significance.
General details of TACT at its completion are as under.
Funds allocated for TACT by US Gov. - US$ 31.6 million,
Total Number of patients enrolled in TACT - 1708
First patient randomized in TACT - December 10, 2003,
1708th patient enrolled and randomized – Oct. 4, 2010
Total no. of centers to take chelation infusions - 134
No. of pre-established EDTA chelation centers - 81
No. of non-established EDTA chelation centers - 53
Spread of centers - USA and Canada.
Average follow up period of the patients - 55 months
Total number of infusions given - 55,222
Normally, when I finish my elaboration about safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of EDTA
chelation therapy in my training course, I am asked why then EDTA chelation therapy is not
widespread.
Obviously there are many reasons for such buried status of the therapy. These are as under:
From large quantum or research carried out till 1962 by N. Clarke, A. Boyle, R. Kitchell, L.
Meltzer, H. Spencer, G. Foreman etc., Disodium EDTA chelation therapy was proven to be very
safe and effective for coronary artery disease. In fact, on the basis of research carried out till
then, Abbott Laboratory mentioned atherosclerosis as one of the indication on their package
insert for Disodium EDTA.
In USA, in 1962, Kefauver-Harrison Act made it compulsory for all the manufacturers, to
establish both safety and efficacy of the drugs manufactured by them for the diseases indicated
on package insert of the drug through double blind trials with control. In the year 1964, Abbott
Laboratory was asked by US FDA to prove safety and efficacy of EDTA for atherosclerosis
indicated on the package insert through such trials, as required by the new laws or remove the
mention of atherosclerosis from the package insert.
Proving safety and efficacy of EDTA chelation therapy through the infusion method would have
taken more than five years because they are far more cumbersome than drug trials. Further,
such trials would have needed expenditure of several million dollars. Abbott Laboratories’
patent for EDTA was to expire in 1969. Due to ensuing competition from small manufacturers
after the expiry of patent no monetary benefit was expected after that year. Naturally, from
business angle Abbott Laboratory chose the alternative of removing mention of atherosclerosis
from the package insert. Most of the people in medical field overlooked such reality and
started concluding that the reason for removal of the mention is that Abbott Laboratory is
unable to prove the efficacy. In other words, EDTA is not effective in the treatment of
atherosclerosis.
Stalwarts like Foreman, Soffers who supported the therapy till 1964, changed their stand and
declared that EDTA chelation therapy is not very safe and effective. Almost all the budding
doctors turned away from use of the therapy. With these happenings everyone started
concluding that EDTA is not useful in treating atherosclerosis.
One more reason is that one of the most enthusiastic researcher in the domain of chelation
therapy, named Mervin J Seven, who made significant contribution to the research of safety of
the therapy, died in an accident in 1961. He was keenly interested in chelation therapy and was
the organizer of the two chelation therapy conferences that were held in USA in 1959 and 1961
and attended by more than 400 delegates. After Seven’s death no one came forward to
continue his mission zealously. No other conferences have been held since then.
It can also be emphatically said that deliberately EDTA chelation therapy was not allowed to
spread.
In the year 1964, heart bypass surgery was perfected by Rene Favaloro. In very short time
many surgeons learned to perform the surgery and became cardiac surgeons. With this
‘surgical wonder’ the hospital could earn about US$ 60000 in which surgeon’s share was US$
15000 or so. Profit to the hospital management was estimated to be about US$25000. All in a
matter of five hours.
With such earning cardiac surgeons like Denton Cooley could make extremely effective
propaganda by shooting films of their surgical skill in operation theatre and broadcasting them
on television. The number of bypass surgeries done under his supervision rose to fifty per day
and within very short time and he could built 29 story Texas Heart Institute.
To achieve such grand successes the surgeon lobby systematically maligned chelation the
therapy with media propaganda because it was the only effectively competing procedure
available to public at far lower expenses. Cardiologists, left with nothing after their dismissal of
EDTA chelation therapy, meekly surrendered to the recommendations of bypass surgery by
cardiac surgeons.
In 1977, German radiologist Andreas Gruentzig developed coronary angioplasty for treatment
of coronary artery disease. Impressed with the prospects of high profit through such technique,
cardiologists,
snatched the angiography procedure from radiologists so they could frighten the patients,
patient’s relatives and coerce patients to undergo the newly developed technique of
angioplasty. To nourish new fields of profit, cardiologists also joined the bandwagon to blame,
banish and bury chelation so as to turn some patients to angioplasty. In fact in the early 1970s
there were very few doctors in USA who openly practiced EDTA chelation therapy and
wonderfully cured diseases, despite anti chelation propaganda by medical cartel, harassment
from US FDA and local medical boards.
Anti chelation lobby managed to ensure that EDTA chelation is not included in the medical
curriculum. Even the topic of metal toxicity is covered in few minutes of talk. With all the
propaganda almost all doctors and patients remained away from EDTA chelation therapy and it
dwindled day by day till about 1983.
Yet another setback to EDTA chelation therapy was the reappraisal of the research made by
Kitchell and Meltzer and published in the year 1964.
Kitchell and Meltzer continued the follow up of the 38 patients treated by them previously and
found that 71% of the patients experienced improvement in disabling angina and 45%
remained improved during 18 to 46 months of the follow up period.
In an interview two months before the reappraisal, they confirmed that EDTA chelation
therapy is very effective treatment of coronary artery disease. However, in the reappraisal
article they commented that the therapy is not effective in coronary artery disease. Such
conclusion was drawn because the authors felt that the relief experienced by the patients did
not last long. In reality this is not a logical conclusion because the death rate of the treated
patients was about 8% per year against 12 to 15% in case of patients treated with other
conventional modes. The treatments of Kitchell and Meltzer were also somewhat primitive
because the infusions were without any vitamins and minerals and patients were not advised
to modify their lifestyle through exercise, diet etc.
Subsequent inquiries revealed that an insurance company had given a grant of US$ 1000000 for
the reappraisal. The work actually deserved only about US$150000. Quite probably the
company wanted to preempt the situation because it was afraid that the semi expensive EDTA
chelation therapy may be adapted by hundreds of patients, who will burden the company with
insurance claims.
In any case the reappraisal article did lot of damage because for next twenty years anti
chelation lobby kept on citing this article as a proof of ineffectiveness of EDTA chelation
therapy.
As has been seen, hardly any research was carried out during the period 1964 to 1980 and no
research article appeared in any well recognized periodical.
The greed of some of the doctors and pharma businessmen is so excessive that even after
getting all the proofs of safety and efficacy of EDTA chelation therapy through TACT, they are
still blowing trumpet that EDTA chelation therapy is ineffective.
In my honest opinion, if currently used cardiovascular medicine therapy is considered as a
datum,
Angioplasty proves to be 2% superior treatment.
Bypass surgery proves to be 5to 6% superior.
EDTA chelation therapy proves to be 18% superior treatment.
These opinions are based on research carried out during 2008 to 2014.
——X—X—X——
6 Sham Research of EDTA Chelation Therapy
Dr. Bhalchandra Gokhale — B. Tech., M. Tech. (IIT Bombay), PhD. (A.M.) with Specialization in EDTA Chelation Therapy
No4rman Clarke published the results of his systematic research of using EDTA chelation
therapy in the treatment of heart diseases in 1956. Despite the high mortality and morbidity
rates caused by the treatments given by others in 1956-60 era the therapy was emerging as a
very effective method of reversing vascular diseases.
Each of the two conferences held in 1959 and 1961 were very well attended. Later, A. Boyle
and N. Clarke further researched the therapy and reconfirmed its benefits.
In the year 1960, R. Kitchell and L. Meltzer treated 10 patients suffering from severe coronary
artery disease. After the treatment 9 were free from angina. Of these 9, five showed significant
improvement in ECG and 3 showed considerable reduction in the dilation of their heart.
Later in the year 1962 they also carried out very systematic research specifically aimed at
assessing the safety of the therapy and confirmed that when 3 gram dose of disodium EDTA is
given as a 0.5% solution in no less than three hours, the therapy proved to be very safe.
Encouraged by the research Abbott Laboratory mentioned atherosclerosis as one of the
indicated disease in the package insert given along with their Endrate® (i.e. Disodium EDTA)
Bottles.
Later, in 1961-62, they treated 28 similar patients and found their improvement as 71%
symptomatic, 64% measurable and 42% in ECG.
With such scenario Blue Cross - Blue Shield - an Insurance Company - was shaken up because
the management felt that the semi expensive therapy will be used by hundreds of people and
the company will be greatly burdened with insurance claims.
To counter such possibility it became necessary for the company to find a negativity of the
therapy confirmed by research.
For this the company gave a huge grant of US$ 1,000,000 to R. Kitchell and L. Meltzer, just to
reassess their earlier research. Such work actually deserved at most US$ 150,000.
In the reassessment R. Kitchell and L. Meltzer found that after 18 months 12 of the 38 patients
were dead and only 46% of the patients remained improved. Therefore, due to such short
lasting effect, R. Kitchell and L. Meltzer made an innocent remark in their 1964 article that
chelation therapy is ineffective on long term basis. Actually conclusions drawn by the authors
of the article were inappropriate because in 4 years 12 out of 38 dead means the death rate
was little less than 8% per year. In those days, for patients in extremely serious condition, like
those treated by R. Kitchell and L. Meltzer, the average yearly death rate without chelation
therapy was 12 to 15%.
These remarks believed to be prompted by Blue Cross- Blue Shield were savior for the company
as they started rejecting insurance claims on this basis. For this reason and many other
unfortunate circumstances EDTA chelation therapy got thrown in disappearance and for next
twenty years use as well as research dwindled.
In 1984, AAMP (i.e. American Academy of Medical Preventics) and ICRF (i.e. International
Chelation Research Foundation) proposed research of EDTA chelation therapy. AMA (i.e.
American Medical Association), AHA (i.e. American Heart Association) opposed the trial on the
ground of safety. Within three month these organizations could not give any proof to prove
their objections.
Thus, the anti-chelation group, comprising of AMA, AHA and many other organizations, felt a
need for research to prove chelation therapy to be condemnable on safety and efficacy
grounds.
It was not easy to prove EDTA chelation therapy to be unsafe. Therefore, anti-chelation group
themselves started research of EDTA chelation therapy with hidden objective to prove the
therapy to be inferior and/or ineffective. The details of such sham research are given in
hereunder.
Heidelberg Study
This study was conducted in 1986 in Germany by Schettler. It was financially supported by
Thiemann AG. It compared EDTA chelation with a drug Fludilatl® manufactured by Thiemann
AG, who for their financial support, had acquired the rights of presenting the data in the
manner they like. No paper of this study ever appeared in any journal but a report published by
Thiemann AG was the supporting document.
The hidden purpose behind financial participation of Thiemann was to prove Fludilatl® to be
more effective than EDTA chelation therapy. This itself indicates that at least in Germany, EDTA
was considered to be the drug of choice for giving chelation treatment for reversal of
peripheral vascular disease.
Patients chosen were suffering from peripheral vascular disease.
Of the 48 patients chosen, half were treated with 20 drips of EDTA chelation therapy and
remaining were treated by Fludilatl®. The criteria of health improvement was the distance one
could walk without pain in the legs.
After completion of the trials Thiemann AG published the data. It stated leg pain free walking
distance in case of patients in EDTA chelation group increased by 70%, whereas in Fludilatl®.
group it increased by 76%. With this, a propaganda that Fludilatl® is more effective in reversing
peripheral vascular disease than EDTA, was started.
However, later Schettler threw light on the realities to expose lies of the officials of Thiemann
AG.
One of the observation made in the study was, that in the tests conducted at the end of 3
months, the leg pain free walking distance for EDTA group had increased to 182%, whereas, for
the Fludilatl®. group it had increased to 87%. More important is the fact that, in EDTA group,
for four patients the leg pain free walking distance had increased by 1000 m but in the
statistical calculations these patients were excluded. Had they been included Thiemann AG
would have been forced to publish 250% and 87% increase in leg pain free walking distance
instead of 70% and 76% mentioned above.
Danish Study
This study was conducted in 1990 by Sloth Nielsen and other cardiac surgeons. Patients
suffering from intermittent claudication after short walking distance were chosen for the study.
Of these 153 patients, half were given EDTA chelation infusions and remaining half were given
infusion without EDTA i.e. placebo. The criteria of improvement was the leg pain free walking
distance. Before the test, the average leg pain free walking distance of patients in EDTA group
and placebo group were 119 m and 157 m, respectively, i.e. randomization unfavorable for
chelation therapy group.
After taking 10 placebo infusions, the patients in the placebo group realized that they were
getting placebo treatment. So they resented. To pacify them, they were given the next 10 drips
of EDTA chelation therapy instead of placebo. After a total of 20 drips leg pain free walking
distance tests were conducted. Patients in 20-drip EDTA group improved leg pain free walking
distance from 119 to 180 m i.e. 51.3% increase.
As against this, the patients in 10-drip placebo and 10-drip EDTA group improved leg pain free
walking distance from 157 to 194 m, i.e. an increase of only 23.6%. Simple arithmetical
calculations show that if placebo group was given all 20 saline drips their pain free walking
distance might not have increased at all and the comparison would have been 53.1 % to 0%.
Data of the tests carried out 3 months after the therapy, was not presented. If it was published
it would have shown dramatic increase in walking distance beyond 53.1% as reported.
Later, when chelation therapy practitioners in Denmark objected and presented flaws in the
study, Danish Government appointed a committee which, explicitly condemned the study for
confusion in methodology and associated dishonesty. Following were the frauds.
The investigators requested the patients to chew tablets containing iron during the treatment.
Most likely objective behind this was that iron will bind with EDTA and calcium will not be
removed from patient’s arteries. Therefore, chelation drip will become ineffective.
While preparing the final report one woman testified that she told the investigator she felt very
good improvement after the therapy but she saw that the investigator noted it as “no
improvement”.
Out of the total 153 patients 106 (i.e. 70%) were smokers. In the first report only 30 were
recorded as smokers. It was known that smoking decreases effectiveness of EDTA.
The most important reason behind the dishonesty was that just two years prior, i.e. in 1989,
Peter VanDerSchaar had published an article where he unequivocally stated that all 111
patients treated by him through EDTA chelation therapy improved significantly and needed no
surgery.
Peter, now aged 88, was a famous cardiac surgeon from Holland (neighbor of Denmark). As he
had successfully carried out more than 1000 bypass surgeries till 1988 at the world famous
Texas Heart Institute in USA, his opinion was very much valued by public and the trend towards
bypass surgeries dwindled.
New Zealand Study
This study, carried out in 1994, was supervised by Von Ridge and other cardiac surgeons. The
patients selected were suffering from peripheral vascular disease. Conclusions drawn in this
study were also fraudulent.
Of the 32 patients, half were given 20 EDTA drips, whereas, remaining half were given 20
placebo drips. The criteria of improvement was leg pain free walking distance.
After the therapy, leg pain free walking distance of EDTA group improved by 25.9% and placebo
group by 14.8%. With this, EDTA chelation therapy was considered to be ineffective. Later, it
was found that there was an outlier in the placebo group. In his case the walking distance was
shown to have increased by 250%. When his walking distance test was carried out once again,
it was found that his walking distance had not increased at all. When his data was excluded
from the statistics, it was noticed that the saline group showed no improvement in their
walking distance at all and the comparison was 25.9% vs. 0%.
In this study almost 86% patients in EDTA group were smokers. They were advised to stop
smoking but no cognizance was taken when it was found that they continued smoking. Further
the patients were also given iron containing tablets which are known to lower or even nullify
the effectiveness of EDTA. When the data pertaining to these patients was excluded from
statistics, the increase in walking distance for EDTA group was 70% as against 0% for the saline
group.
One more factor that was admitted by the researchers subsequent to the publication of their
article in “The New Zealand Medical Journal” was that the patients in control group were given
oral medications. The only purpose behind such action appears to be to reduce the gap of
improvement in two groups.
Apart from leg pain free walking distance, the amplitude of heart beats at dorsalis pedis or
posterior tibial in EDTA group improved very significantly. This means that the blood flow to the
legs of the EDTA chelation therapy treated patients improved significantly.
Calgary Patch Study
The hidden purpose behind this study, carried out in 2002, supervised by Knudtson and others,
was to show chelation therapy to be ineffective. With this intention, the methodology was
planned in mischievously intelligent manner.
While selecting the patients for the study, assessment of their health was not done properly.
The only criteria used for selection of the patients was the ST depression or ST elevation of 0.1
mV in their ECG during their stress test. This, certainly, is not a reliable indicator to confirm that
a patient is suffering from heart disease.
Patients treated with EDTA had an average LVEF of 62%. Exhaustion free walking distance in
the EDTA group was 588 seconds. In the control group treated with placebo infusions,
exhaustion free walking distance was 572 seconds.
39 patients received 20 EDTA drips. Other 39 received 20 placebo drips.
In the stress tests carried out immediately after completion of the therapy, it was found that
angina and exhaustion free walking distance in the EDTA group had increased from 589 to 652
seconds i.e. an increase of 10.7%, whereas in the placebo group it had increased from 572 to
626 seconds i.e. an increase of 9.4%. With this data chelation therapy was labeled to be
ineffective.
Oxygen consumption health indicator of the patients in EDTA group increased from 1591 to
1675 i.e. 5.36%, whereas, in the placebo group it increased from 1606 to 1646 i.e. 2.49%.
Following can be said with regard to appropriateness of this study:
Patients treated with EDTA had an average walking time in excess of 9 min 30 sec, and LVEF of
62%. It means that these patients did not have any heart disease, or if at all they were suffering
from heart disease, its severity was very low. In such condition any therapy, even EDTA
chelation, will show only marginal improvement. A medicine or a therapy can not cure a
disease which the patient does not have.
No walking distance tests were carried out after three months from the last drip to verify the
enhanced health improvements that are claimed and usually experienced by the patients.
The oxygen consumption ability of human beings is usually between 90 to 99%. Thus, only
about 9% increase is possible. Therefore, comparatively an increase of 5.35% in those who took
chelation drips is significantly better than 2.49% in those who took placebo treatment.
It should also be noted that the researchers in Danish, New Zealand and Calgary Patch Study
were not chelation practitioners and did not have any qualification or experience of giving
chelation drips to the patients. There were discrepancies in their protocol.
In nutshell all the above elaborations of the studies confirm that the studies were sham studies
meant to discredit EDTA chelation therapy.
A wonderful fact is that despite all the crooked ways adapted, these sham studies have actually
confirmed that EDTA chelation therapy is effective. The manipulations have reduced the extent
of benefits.
The purpose of this article is that most of the cardiologists base their negative opinions about
EDTA chelation therapy on contents of these articles. Therefore, chelation therapists must
know the realities to counter their anti-chelation arguments.
——X—X—X——
7 Arterial Blockages
Dr. Bhalchandra Gokhale — B. Tech., M. Tech. (IIT Bombay), PhD. (A.M.) with Specialization in EDTA Chelation Therapy
The technique of coronary angiography began in 1928. Forssmann was the pioneer. However, it
became well developed only by 1956. Initially it was used only to ascertain the location of
blockages in the coronary arteries so the surgeons can connect the grafts on the downstream
part of the blocked artery.
It was not used as a diagnostic tool for coronary artery disease till about 1970.
In the year 1967 bypass surgery was perfected. To take any patient to bypass surgery it became
necessary for the surgeons to give some logic for the cause
of their disease and the treatment through bypass surgery.
Thus, they formed a logic that blocks in the coronary artery
cause reduction in blood flow in downstream part of the 2
coronary arteries. This way he heart muscles, particularly 1
3 1
those of the left ventricle, do not get sufficient oxygen. In
such condition heart is unable to pump sufficient quantity
of blood that is needed during higher exertion. 2
A notion, firmly founded in medical community, is that bypass surgery or angioplasty are far
superior treatments compared to chelation therapy. Unfortunately, ayurvedic and
homeopathic doctors also corroborate with this concept. In reality this misconception has been
spread by American Medical Business and its propaganda by Indian organizations like MCI,
ICMR, DCGI and IMA and its members.
To erase this misconception, here I have compared the three treatments without any bias.
When a patient has to choose a treatment, he and his relatives need to have in depth
knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of the alternatives. Judgment based on one or
two persons having undergone the therapy and got benefitted is not very valid because such
data does not allow to draw statistically significant conclusions. Therefore, rather than giving
case histories of improved patients I have given statistical data in the comparison.
Most of the data pertaining to angioplasty and bypass surgery given in the comparison tables
presented in the forthcoming tables, is taken from the following two books published by Wiley
in the year 2003.
"So, You Are Having Heart Cath and Angioplasty" by Magnus Ohman - a cardiologist and
“So, You Are Having Heart Bypass Surgery” by Bret Sheldon a cardiac surgeon.
Information about chelation therapy has been taken from many different sources.
In the first column the criteria of comparison is mentioned and the next three columns data
about the criteria in respect of bypass surgery, angioplasty and chelation therapy is presented.
It is presumed that all the three types of therapies have been given diligently by the treating
doctors. Best choice is given pink background.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angioplasty Chelation Therapy
Death in Low Risk Patients 1-3% 0.5-1.4% None
Death in a therapy is extremely serious incident. Due to the fact that cardiologists and cardiac
surgeon advocate angioplasty and bypass surgery, those figures given are somewhat less than
actually noticed in practice. Also remember that all the data pertains for low risk patients. For
high risk patients mortality of angioplasty and bypass surgery is much higher.
According to US FDA, the likelihood of death in EDTA chelation therapy is almost zero. It should
be noted that US FDA is a universally accepted authoritative organization in the domain of
medicine having anti-chelation mindset. Despite this it has confirmed, in the year 2013, that
during a period from1970 to 2007 they have noticed 11 deaths due to EDTA chelation therapy.
These deaths, in about 2 million treated patients, were caused because the treating doctor
gave rapid infusions of the drug disodium EDTA by considering it to be calcium disodium EDTA,
which can be given very rapidly. It means that the therapy given by these doctors was not as
per ACAM promulgated protocol and hence inappropriate.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angioplasty Chelation Therapy
Likelihood of Heart Attack Due to the Therapy 3-5% 1-3% None
Likelihood of Stroke Due to the Therapy 1-2% 0.5% None
Likelihood of a Wound to Interior of the Body 100% 100% None
In bypass surgery a very large incision is made in the patient’s chest. In angioplasty the guide
wire follows the curved path of the artery after scraping and scratching the endothelium. These
injuries increases the chances of formation of blood clots and consequent heart attacks or
stroke. Cardiologists or cardiac surgeons recommend taking medicines like aspirin and
clopidogrel because they inhibit clot formation to reduce the chances of heart attacks or stroke.
In chelation therapy the incision made in the body is very small. For this reason, and due to the
fact that EDTA used in the therapy also inhibits clot formation for long time, the likelihood of
clot formation after EDTA chelation therapy is almost nonexistent. Therefore, likelihood of
heart attack or stroke after chelation therapy is extremely low.
Medicines used in bypass surgery and particularly the radio contrast dye used to enhance the
clarity of the images obtained in angiography are very damaging to patient’s kidneys.
Therefore, in these procedures the damage to kidneys or worsening of the existing kidney
disease is inevitable.
In EDTA chelation therapy also patient’s kidneys can get damaged if the infusion is given with
very high dose of EDTA. But after systematic research a method of calculating dosage for each
of the patients by taking into account his age, sex, weight, height, and creatinine level has been
promulgated by ACAM. If such method is followed the patient’s kidneys do not get damaged. It
has also been established that damage caused by EDTA is usually temporary.
Actually patient’s kidneys improve by EDTA chelation therapy.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angio-plasty Chelation Therapy
Start of Arrhythmia in the Patient 20-30% 1-2% 0.005%
Chances of Allergic Reactions of the Medicines Used 0.01% 0.4% 0.001%
During bypass surgery, patient’s heart is touched by instruments used in surgery, surgeons
gloves and atmospheric air containing toxins of various types. These can damage the nerves
meant for signal transmission to heart muscles. This can result in arrhythmia. In angioplasty,
when the artery is pressed outward by the balloon, the nerves can get damaged to cause
arrhythmia. In EDTA chelation therapy no such thing takes place. Magnesium chloride or
magnesium sulfate used in the infusion reduces arrhythmia of the patient.
Due to cuts given to various parts of the body and particularly arteries, blood invariably bleeds
out. It is a routine practice to keep two or more bottles of matching blood ready for use while a
patient is taken for bypass surgery.
Though instances of uncontrolled bleeding are much lesser in angioplasty, they do occur. About
ten years ago one of my friend was taken for angioplasty. The nurse by mistake punctured the
femoral artery incorrectly and the result was that 22 bottles of blood was needed. Fortunately,
his blood group was common hence the blood could be made available.
In such circumstance, it is necessary to give blood externally. In angioplasty such instances of
uncontrolled bleeding are rare and therefore the need for external blood supply is much less. In
chelation therapy usually a small vein is chosen for the intravenous infusion. The needle is also
very thin. Therefore, heavy bleeding never occurs.
Why in many cases, after bypass surgery blood pressure increases is not clearly understood but
it does increase.
In angioplasty blood pressure remains unaffected. Chelation therapy decreases blood pressure
towards ideal in most of the cases.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angioplasty Chelation Therapy
Ulcers and Gastritis After the Therapy 0.5-3% 0.1% None
Fluid Accumulation in Heart or Lungs 3-4% None None
Infection in Wounds <1% <0.01% <0.001
Infection in Other Parts of Body 4-6% None None
Due to long incisions made during bypass surgery the likelihood of internal wounds, gastritis,
fluid accumulation in lungs etc., is higher. Chance of infections of the wound are also higher
after bypass surgery.
In angioplasty the wound is small and in EDTA chelation therapy the wound is smaller and very
shallow. Therefore the adverse effects mentioned in the above table are also of less in
angioplasty and also none in EDTA chelation therapy.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angioplasty Chelation Therapy
Dementia/Memory Problems in Three Years in 10 -25% None None
Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery
Dementia/Memory Problems in Three Years in Beating 1 -15% None None
Heart Bypass Surgery
In cardiopulmonary bypass surgery the working of heart is completely stopped and function of
blood purification, blood oxygenation and blood pumping is done by a heart lung machine.
However good the heart lung machine may be, it is not as good as human heart and lung. Often
over or under oxygenated blood is pumped. If the blood is under saturated the body cells get
less oxygen. Brain cells, being very delicate, die quickly to cause dementia and memory
problems. If blood is over saturated the extra oxygen remains in bubble form. When it goes
into the tiny arterioles in the brain it blocks the blood flow to cause cell death to cause
dementia and memory problems.
Thus, it was noticed that the prevalence of dementia and memory problems after
cardiopulmonary bypass surgery was 10 to 25% patients.
In beating heart bypass surgery the no heart lung machine is used. The heart beat rate is
reduced to about 40 beats per minute when just sufficient blood can be pumped by the heart
to keep body barely functioning. Due to reduced number of heart beats the surgeons get
adequate time to do the, cutting stitching procedures in the surgery. Such surgery, however, is
also not without blemish. Because in long duration surgeries, continuously low oxygen supply
to the brain cells does result in dementia and memory loss in about 1 to 15%.
In angiography the blood supply stops for momentarily. In EDTA chelation therapy blood supply
does not stop even momentarily. Therefore, dementia and memory problems are not caused
after these procedures.
Likelihood of following occurrences Bypass Surgery Angioplasty Chelation Therapy
Need for Medicines to Avoid Future Adverse Events High Very High None
How Long the Improvement Continues 2 Months 15 Days 2 Years
Eradication or Reduction of Basic Cause No No Yes
Benefit in Other Degenerative Diseases No No Yes
Cardiac surgeons after bypass surgeries and cardiologists after angioplasty, recommend
patients to take about 6 to 10 medicines for rest of their life. These recommendations are
because angioplasty or bypass surgery neither eradicate nor reduce the cause of coronary
artery disease. These medicines are meant to prevent occurrence of heart attack. Therefore,
they have to be taken lifelong on daily basis.
Chelation therapists recommend supplements. They take part in metabolic processes to reduce
the cause of disease and improve health.
Another important aspect of chelation therapy is that it causes all round improvement in the
body and considerably reduces the chance of the patient catching dreadful disease like cancer,
Parkinson, Alzheimer etc.
Frankly speaking, by no measure angioplasty is of much use. Many trials carried out in recent
years has proved that it is just as good as remaining only on cardiovascular drugs. Many
cardiologists recommend it because they have to fulfill the targets set for them by business
minded hospitals to which they are attached.
As far as the need to revert to other conventional therapies (viz. angioplasty or bypass surgery)
is concerned, bypass surgery proves superior to EDTA chelation therapy because a cardiac
surgeon or a cardiologist do not recommend second bypass within two years for such
recommendation will prove bypass surgery to be very inferior.
When it comes to angioplasty, many cardiac surgeons and cardiologist suggest bypass surgery
within days from completion of chelation therapy because they have a very strong opinion that
chelation therapy is ineffective.
On the basis of expenses incurred for the treatment also EDTA chelation therapy proves to be
the least expensive amongst the compared procedures as shown in the table on next page.
From all what has been said in the above tables it can be said that EDTA chelation therapy
should be chosen by everyone before undergoing either angioplasty or bypass surgery because
it will end up in avoiding the expensive and hazardous surgeries in about 90% cases. More
importantly all those without exception will remain alive for the bypass surgery or angioplasty
if at all need arises for such procedures.
I hope the above article gives you sufficient material to convince patients to go in for EDTA
chelation therapy.
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