Why the NIH Study of Chelation Therapy
Should Be Stopped
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Medscape General Medicine has published a book-length report that calls for immediate termination of the National Institutes of Health's Triasl to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT). The $30 million clinical trial, which began in 2003 and is scheduled for completion in 2009, is intended to test whether intravenous disodium EDTA is effective against coronary artery disease. The report concludes:- There is no reliable preliminary evidence or logical reason to believe that the treatment will work.
- Chelation proponents used political connections to pressure the NIH to fund the study.
- The application for the trial misrepresented previous data and concealed evidence of risks.
- The study lacks precautions necessary to minimize risks.
- The consent form reflects these shortcomings and fails to disclose apparent proprietary interests.
- Many of the doctors administering the chelation therapy have been in regulatory trouble and are untrustworthy.
- The trial's outcome will be unreliable and almost certainly equivocal, thus defeating the study's stated purpose.
Shortly after the Medscape article was published, the NIH removed the password protection from its TACT “Portal” website, which originally was available only to investigators and others associated with the trial. Kimball Atwood, M.D. lead author of the Medscape article, quickly examined the site and found further evidence of impropriety [2]. To ensure that the documents would continue to be available for criticism, I have uploaded the Portal site to Chelation Watch [3].
References
- Atwood KA and others. Why the NIH Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) should be abandoned. Medscape Journal of Medicine 10(5):115, 2008.
- Atwood KA. The TACT is at least as Bad as We Predicted. Science-Based Medicine Web site, May 30, 2008.
- TACT Portal Web site, downloaded May 29, 2008.
This article was posted on June 2, 2008.