DSMA dimercaptosuccinic acid (mercury detox therapy)

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Has anyone heard of this, know if it works? It apparently binds to mercury and allows the body to excrete it.

Also, if there is evidence of it working, as autism has several possible unknown causes, is it likely it only works for one type/some types and not all (e.g .genetic)?

First, there is no valid, scientifically-derived evidence that mercury causes autism or any autistic spectrum disorder. Thus, any form of chelation therapy would be useless in the treatment of Autism and related disorders, and may even be harmful - especially to children.

Second, my Google search turned up nothing from the Centers for Disease Control, but plenty from holistic/homeopathic websites and quite a few from "doctors" who seem to be more famous for the books they write than for any papers published in reputable peer-review journals (The Lancet, JAMA, et cetera).

Third, further searches on the Journal of the American Medical Association website turned up nothing on the use of dimercaptosuccinic acid in the treatment of anything.

Therefor, it may be safe to conclude that there is no scientifically-obtained evidence to support any claim for the efficacy of dimercaptosuccinic acid in the treatment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders, in spite of what Jenny McCarthy may have to say.

And if anyone posts that "Lots of People" have testified that chelation therapy works, all that I can say in response is that the plural of "testimony" is not "proof".

The reason I ask, is this article, relevant quotes below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... z2Jh3C2fxA

So, however anecdotal, lacking research evidence doesn't mean that it can't or doesn't work.

Lacking valid, scientifically determined cause-and-effect evidence, there is sufficient reason to doubt any and all testimonials, no matter how sincere the beliefs behind them.

Here is one problem that I have (and I will state upfront that I am not necessarily opposed to the idea of mercury toxicity in some kids with autism):

I have hung in circles where parents do this. They don't go to the lab at their local hospital or down the street to get their kid's blood tested. They send it to a specialty lab that makes quite a bit of it's money off the backs of parents trying to find a physiological reason for their kid's condition.

NOT ONCE

Not once among all of the people have I known who have sent their labs to such a facility

NOT ONCE

Has anyone's labs come back clean.

I just don't buy it.

I do not buy that all autism is caused by the same thing and I do not buy that just by chance, only parents of kids with this particular type of autism have gotten their kids' labs done at this type of lab. I don't buy it. SOMEONE'S labs should have come back clean.

So, I am skeptical about it all.

Some studies show that there is a correlation between autistic symptoms and higher mercury levels. http://www.jpands.org/vol8no3/geier.pdf; http://www.dienviro.org/s950/images/bio ... autism.pdf

However, I think it's just as possible that an impaired ability to remove toxins from the body could be a result of autism, with high mercury levels being a side effect, not the cause of autism. Or perhaps the same factor that causes autism (maybe an auto-immune attack or Vit D deficiency) causes both an impaired brain and an impaired liver. See just how little correlation alone tells you?

Besides a correlation, no study has ever been able to determine a cause-and-effect relationship between mercury and autism. Several studies have shown no benefit from chelation therapy. http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml.

Here's just one possible, plausible way that mercury levels could be a side effect of something else that causes autism:

Liver impairment is somehow related to Vitamin D deficiency. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2950664/; other studies have shown that it may even cause some forms of liver disease. Just speculation, but maybe Vitamin D deficiency in utero causes both autism and an impaired liver, which leads to higher mercury levels as a mere side effect of autism. In any case, the science tells us nothing with respect to mercury and autism, only that chelation therapy does not work and can, in fact, be harmful.

The Vitamin D hypothesis has never been debunked and is, in fact, supported by many studies. http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... and-autism

That does seem very suspicious, as if these labs are primarily focused on turning a buck.

I thought the reason why autistics don' detox mercury from the brain is because they suffer from an MTHFR deficiency which results in lowered brain glutathione levels.

MTHFR is also used to methylate and without it one cannot manufacture neurotransmitters and the such resulting in the impaired communication of autistics.

Thought it's possible while the mother is pregnant and facing a vitamin d deficiency that it could result in MTHFR gene impairement.

I am open-minded. That's all it requires. Open-mindedness, not automatic doubt (unless something is downright obviously impossible).

I have heard an argument similar to this. I shared some information I found about it to a highly skeptically minded, scientific person. I was told by him that the argument was plausible.

This sounds scary to me and there's absoutely nothing to back it up/ lf you had some kind of reaction, would they even know how to help you if you went to a hospital?

Since mercury poisoning is such a thing, maybe you can find a way to be tested for that and indirectly find out about your levels. But l don't really get this theory for the most part.

Assuming both NT kids and AS kids are being exposed to these environmental toxins in the same way, why is the effect showing up at a young age in autistic kids while something like this requires an overdose (by diet, etc) in NTs?

Possibly some kids are more sensitive could be an argument. But eventually if your levels are too high l would think you'd start to show some of the more concerning symptoms of mercury poisoning and go beyond the Asperger traits.

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that all manner of disreputable people will come along and insist on trying to dump all manner of useless crap into it.

Ah, but that's where Aspie logic comes into its own. A fool with an open mind would be a dangerous thing.

... which is why I put no faith in chelation therapy.

QED

Autism and mercury poisoning have totally different symptoms. Both have neurological aspects but that's about where the similarity stops.

I am still not convinced that autistics really have higher mercury levels, because I can also find quite a few studies which show no significant difference between mercury measured in autistics and non-autistics, and they're in peer-reviewed journals.

I am trying to find a good meta-analysis, but I haven't tracked one down yet. Granted, I haven't spent much time on it.

Mercury poisoning is no laughing matter. If you had mercury poisoning, you would be very sick. If you were so unable to remove mercury from your body that you began showing symptoms of mercury poisoning, you would probably also be showing symptoms of kidney or liver disease.

I really don't like the mercury hypothesis. It doesn't sound very plausible to me and there really hasn't been any solid evidence to back it up. In terms of the things which can be done to improve the lives of autistic people by changing their physical condition, the best evidence we have is that which applies to human beings in general--good nutrition, physical activity, sunshine, proper management of any chronic health problems.

Probably best you avoid taking science from UK newspaper, particularly tabloids, particularly the Daily Mail. Even the best UK newspapers only have a couple of writers who can write well on science.

For reference on the Daily Mail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI