CHELATION THERAPY FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER PROBLEMS

CHELATION THERAPY FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND OTHER PROBLEMS  by: Cutler, Paul, M.D. Dr. Cutler graduated from the University of Toronto medical school and practiced nutritional and general medicine in Toronto until 1993. His clinic is now situation in Niagara Falls, New York. He has published many research articles on excess iron in medical journals including Diabetes (Oct. 1989), American Journal of Psychiatry (Jan. 1991), Journal of Neurological and Orthopaedic Medicine and Surgery (Spring 1993), and Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (Feb. 1994). THE INTERPLAY OF INFECTIONS, IRON OVERLOAD AND FREE RADICAL PATHOLOGY IN DISEASE Over the past five to ten years, I have witnessed explosions in the fields of medicine that deal withinfectious diseases, iron overload and free radical pathology. Illnesses related to these three agents include atherosclerosis, auto-immune diseases, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. INFECTIOUS AGENTS It is well established that the cause of most stomach ulcers is a bacteria calledH-pylori. Recently we have seen bacteria such aschlamydia and dental bacteria implicated in coronary artery disease. They have actually been cultured from the plaques of patients with atherosclerosis. Viruses have been implicated in conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. One of the tetracycline antibiotics has provided relief for rheumatoid arthritis, indicating its infectious nature. The strength of our immune system determines whether we can fight infectious agents and prevent certain cancers and auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. CHRONIC FATIGUE Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has a distinct clinical diagnosis because its onset is usually after a viral infection, and often in the beginning six months people complain of an acute neurological episode such as confusion, visual loss, numbness, tingling and weakness. Symptoms such as sore throat, swollen lymph glands, arthritis, fibromyalgia, CNS symptoms and cognitive changes are very typical of this condition. Blood tests are highly abnormal. Immunoglobulins such as IGg are elevated. There are B and T-cell abnormalities. Even hormones like prolactin can be elevated. IRON OVERLOAD Iron overload is clearly a cause of both acute and chronic infections because iron is a fuel for many of these agents. It causes cancer because cancer cells require an enzyme which is highly iron dependent to grow, and the more iron these cells have, the faster they grow. Iron is well established as a cause of increased free radical pathology. So any treatment which can effectively control infectious agents, iron overload and free radical pathology should show great promise. CANCER Research has shown that the prognosis and progression of illness can be predicted by theserum ferritin level for conditions like breast, colon and kidney cancer and leukemias. Even the American Cancer Society follows the ferritin level which is the blood test for stored iron. However, a lot of doctors don't bother to do it and it has key significance. AIDS If you control the iron levels in the blood called ferritin or storage iron factor, you can control the rate of progression of AIDS and control many of its complications. ATHEROSCLEROSIS Iron causes atherosclerosis because it can oxidize some of the blood fats to cholesterol and cause a whole stream of reactions. Iron is a major risk in atherosclerosis. Note that cholesterol lowering drugs can increase the cancer rate and lower co-enzyme Q10 levels. HEPATITIS B AND C If we decrease iron levels through blood removal or chelation, we can control the progression of Hepatitis B and C and can minimize or eliminate the cirrhosis that is common. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS When there is more iron getting into the lesions of M.S., the more severe the M.S. HYDROXYL ION The hydroxyl ion is the trouble maker, the bad guy. Normally in cellular respiration very little of this is produced. However it is produced when macrophages, white cells, want to kill a virus or bacteria and they shoot out lots of hydroxyl to destroy them. Excess iron and copper increase the conversion of hydrogen peroxide into the toxic hydroxyl, and this will destroy the cells, the cell membrane, lipids and nucleic acids. So anything that increases the hydroxyl ion like viruses or iron can create total destruction and disruption of the cell. It must be under strict control by the body's anti-oxidant mechanisms. Any deficiency of our natural anti-oxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene and co-enzyme Q10 can often cause the production of more hydroxyl. HYDROGEN PEROXIDE There is a small percentage of hydrogen peroxide which is constantly in the blood. Certain conditions lower this. Hydrogen peroxide has many functions. It is used to help kill viruses, bacteria and any infectious agents. It plays a role in cell membrane function and energy regulation; it plays a protective role in the immune system, and it can produce some of the tumour necrosis factor cells as well. It plays a role in hormone regulation, specifically progesterone andthyroid. It can even help certain allergic reactions and has well-known uses topically for wounds. We get the same wound-healing effect if we use it intravenously, especially for ulcers, whether they are arterial or venous. As we get older, the brain builds up more monoamine oxidase (MAO), and this is associated with Parkinson's disease and several other depressions of the aging, and one of the factors which helps keep this under control is hydrogen peroxide. Any conditions that would deplete hydrogen peroxide or increase iron will cause thedopamine levels to go down and hence you get the symptoms associated with reduced dopamine which are Parkinson's disease and some of the supernuclear palsies associated with it. CHELATION TREATMENTS: CHELOX THERAPY One of the treatments I use isChelox therapy which is a combination of two types of therapies: chelation therapy and oxidative therapy. Oxidation refers to the removal of electrons; oxidative therapy uses agents like hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer because it can receive electrons and then become reduced to other agents. In Ontario, chelation therapy and hydrogen peroxide therapy are not accepted treatments for atherosclerosis, but the one chelator that I use more than any other, deferoxamine, is indeed an approved and very potent iron chelator. DEFEROXAMINE (trade name: DESFERAL) The Montreal General Hospital is using the chelatordeferoxamine to kill HIV viruses. Results have come in from all over the world including the Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto and Toronto General Hospital which show remarkable improvement by using the chelator deferoxamine. One of my patients with AIDS had his liver enzymes go down from 120 to 48 with just one treatment, indicating that it was beneficial to the liver. This compound is non-toxic to the kidneys; therefore nephrologists commonly use it for their patients with end-stage renal disease who have become overloaded with aluminum due to the dialysis. This produces improvement of kidney function. DESFEROXAMINE AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASEDeferoxamine is also used in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Donald R. McLachlan of the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, used deferoxamine at the Toronto Hospital (Western division) in their Alzheimer's clinic for more than ten years. Dr. McLachlan is now retired, but had some striking results in Alzheimer's that have been published regularly (Patient Care, Nov.91; Can Med Assn Journal, 91; Lancet, Jun 91). Iron creates the tangles and plaques in the brain. After three months of deferoxamine you can see most of the tangles are gone. Your doctor may obtain deferoxamine (Desferal) by contacting CIBA-Geigy. It is presently used for children who have thalassemia. The protocols for using it for Alzheimer's disease are documented in Dr. McLachlan's research. DESFERAL VERSUS EDTA CHELATORS The chelator desferal is a naturally occurring product which various bacteria make to remove iron from plants or soil. Desferal is a much smaller molecule than EDTA and it can actually penetrate into tumour and virus cells to remove iron and slow down their growth. It is a very potent anti-oxidant specifically for the hydroxyl ion, the most potent of the tissue damagers. Desferal has been shown in many conditions, especially Hepatitis C, to stimulate the natural interferon which helps the body suppress the virus. EDTA cannot even be compared with these functions. EDTA is used for heavy metal poisoning like lead poisoning and in some cases of atherosclerosis but this is very controversial. * * *