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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Diet, Genomics and Immunology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #122075
Title: EDTA CHELATION-CADMIUM, CALCIUM, CHROMIUM, COBALT COPPER, LEAD, MAGNESIUM, & ZINC

Author
item WATERS, ROBERT - WATERS PREV. MED. CTR, WI
item Bryden, Noella
item Patterson, Kristine
item Veillon, Claude
item Anderson, Richard

Submitted to: Biological Trace Element Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/18/2001
Publication Date: 8/18/2001
Citation: Waters, R., Bryden, N.A., Patterson, K.K., Veillon, C., Anderson, R.A. Edta chelation-cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt copper, lead, magnesium, & zinc. Biological Trace Element Research. 83:207-221 (2001)

Interpretive Summary: Chelation therapy is a medical procedure used to remove toxic metals in the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Since chelation therapy involves removal of toxic metals, it is not well-established what effects it also has on the removal of the beneficial metals such as chromium, copper, cobalt, calcium and magnesium. Our data demonstrate that chelation therapy results in increased urinary losses of the toxic metals, lead and cadmium, as well as the beneficial metals, zinc and calcium. There were no significant changes in other beneficial metals such as cobalt, chromium, and copper, and a retention of magnesium. These effects are likely to have significant effects on nutrient concentrations and interactions and, when coupled with the increased intake of select essential metals, partially explain the clinical improvements seen in patients undergoing EDTA chelation therapy. This work is of direct benefit to the scientific and medical communities and will help with patient care for the millions of people considering treatment for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Technical Abstract: The efficacy of a chelating agent in binding a given metal in a biological system depends on the binding constants of the chelator for the particular metals in the system, the concentration of the metals and the presence and concentrations of other ligands competing for the metals in question. In this study, we make a comparison of the in vitro binding constants for the chelator, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, with the quantitative urinary excretion of the metals measured before and after EDTA infusion in 16 patients. There were significant increases in lead, zinc, cadmium, and calcium, and these increases roughly corresponded to the expected relative increases predicted by the EDTA-metal binding constants as measured in vitro. There were no significant increases in urinary cobalt, chromium, or copper as a result of EDTA infusion. The actual increase in cobalt could be entirely attributed to the cobalt content of the cyanocobalamin that was added to the infusion. Although copper did increase in the post- EDTA specimens, the increase was not statistically significant. In the case of magnesium, there was a net retention of approximately 85% following chelation. These data demonstrate that EDTA chelation therapy results in significantly increased urinary losses of lead, zinc, cadmium, and calcium following EDTA chelation therapy. There were no significant changes in cobalt, chromium, or copper and a retention of magnesium. These effects are likely to have significant effects on nutrient concentrations and interactions and partially explain the clinical improvements seen in patients undergoing EDTA chelation therapy.