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Researchers have launched the first large-scale clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of EDTA Chelation therapy in people with coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.

The research is being conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Both are a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The five-year study will involve more than 2,300 patients at more than 100 research sites across the country. "The public health imperative to undertake a definitive study of Chelation therapy is clear,” says NCCAM director Stephen E. Straus, M.D.

According to an article in the Journal of Advancement in Medicine, mortality from cancer was reduced 90 percent during an 18-year follow-up study of 59 patients treated with Calcium-EDTA.
Only one of the 59 treated patients died of cancer, while 30 of 172 non-treated control subjects died of cancer. Death from arthrosclerosis was also reduced.

EDTA is well recognized as a therapy for lead toxicity. It also removes other toxic heavy metals and nutritional elements, such as iron, which promote cancer by catalyzing free-radical pathology.

Beginning in 1961, a group of 59 patients with such symptoms was treated with Calcium EDTA. Symptoms improved and urinary delta-amino levulinic acid diminished. Subsequent to the EDTA Chelation therapy, a decrease in cancer mortality was observed. When compared with a control group of untreated patients who did not receive EDTA, many fewer cancer deaths were recorded.

Since the data from this study were last reported, new research has linked cancer to free-radical pathology. EDTA removes transition elements, such as iron, which accelerate free-radical pathology, including cancer. Iron is an essential nutritional element, but it is also known to accumulate with age. EDTA increases the urinary excretion of unbound and freely catalytic iron 10 times more then it does lead.

There are many reasons why EDTA chelation therapy could act to prevent cancer. A recent publication confirms improvement in a wide variety of symptoms, as first reported in this study population. Symptoms improve significantly following EDTA Chelation therapy, resulting in a marked improvement in the overall quality of life.

In a recent clinical trial of heavy-metal urine analysis that was conducted on 14 patients, ages 29 to 73 years, Philip Hoekstra III, Ph.D. measured the effect of Oral Chelating therapy over a six-month period. In addition to noting reductions in levels of aluminum, arsenic, lead and mercury, Hoekstra's study revealed “marked improvement in blood circulation in all but one of the patients, as documented by the thermologic images.”

Another improvement noted in the study was that “Vascularization (improved blood flow) of the feet increased by as much as 33% — significant improvements after only a six-month trial.”

In a separate study, conducted at Unilab in San Jose, California, researchers analyzed the blood samples of four patients taking Oral Chelating formula. The results showed “significant reductions in total blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

The following are the average differences in blood composition from the initiation (baseline) of the protocol until its end at 8 months. Negative values indicate a decrease in the respective constituent after the eight-month time period. All values reported are in mg/dl:

Total Cholesterol: -32.5; Triglycerides: -71; HDL: -0.5;
LDL: -24; VLDL: -8.05; HDL/Total Cholesterol: -0.82

The following are the average changes in blood composition as percentages for the above values:

Total Cholesterol: -16%; Triglycerides: -29%; HDL: -1%; LDL: -18%; VLDL: -16%; HDL/Total Cholesterol: -15%

In his book Pass or Bypass? Chelation Extends Life (Cancer Book House) James J. Julian makes the case for the use of Oral Chelating therapy. “While intravenous Chelation may provide dramatic results more quickly,” ingesting daily Chelating supplements containing EDTA can also be “very effective, not to mention more convenient and less expensive.”

In addition to removing toxic, heavy metals such as lead, “doctors noted that their patients experienced unexpected improvements beyond those that could be explained by lead removal,” according to a recent article posted on www.vitasentials.com.

The article further explains that “Patients reported improved memory, diminished leg and chest pain on exertion, better vision, better hearing and improved sense of smell... improvements related to improved circulation and relief of blocked or narrowed arteries. Poor circulation and lack of blood flow to the reproductive organs is a primary cause of male impotence. Many men find that, as their circulation is improved, sexual performance also improves. Chelating agents can also remove age-related cross-linkages in collagen and elastin that are responsible for loss of skin tone and wrinkling. After Chelation therapy, patients often look younger. Their skin becomes smoother, more flexible and wrinkles actually disappear to some degree.” This article points out that intravenous Chelating therapy also has the ability to “remove calcified plaque from artery walls.”

Chelating therapy was originally developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1940’s to treat deep-sea divers suffering from lead poisoning.

Chelation therapy involves the use of EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid), a synthetic amino acid. EDTA, which effectively speeds removal of heavy metals and minerals such as lead, iron, copper, and calcium from the blood, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating lead poisoning and toxicity from other heavy metals.

Chelating therapy takes its name from Khele; the Greek word for claw. As the name implies, EDTA has the ability to grab onto, or bind to, heavy metals in the body in such a way as to allow the body to excrete these toxins.

There is increasing evidence EDTA Chelation as an effective way to treat coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a type of heart disease in which the coronary arteries (vessels that supply oxygen-carrying blood to the heart) become blocked by deposits of a fatty substance called plaque. As plaque builds, the arteries become narrower, and less oxygen and fewer nutrients are transported to the heart for proper function. CAD can lead to serious health problems such as angina (pain caused by insufficient oxygen-carrying blood reaching the heart) and heart attack.