The development of chelation therapy began with a Nobel Prize winning chemist, Alfred Werner. In the 1890s he developed a theory of transitional metal complexes, laying the foundation of coordination chemistry.  This resulted in explaining the process of how metals combine with organic compounds and laying the foundation for chelation.  For this ground breaking work, he received the Nobel Prize in 1913 (and was the first inorganic chemist to do so).

The first applications of Werner’s work appeared in the industrial arena after WWI.  New compounds were introduced, including paints, that had high concentrations of heavy metals.  Reducing their toxicity was crucial to worker safety.  Germany began to use citric acid, but in the 1930’s, due to excessive importing of citric acid, developed EDTA (Ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetate).  EDTA is an amino acid that can combine with and bind many heavy metals.  It was found not only to be very effective, but to have a variety of industrial and applications.  Germany began to sell EDTA for widespread, international industrial use.

The use of EDTA in medicine was spurred by the threats of WWII and the Cold War.  British officials were particularly concerned about the effects of gas warfare, particularly after WWI and the horrors that the chemicals unleashed.  British scientists developed their own chelating agent, dimercaprol.  It effectively bound arsenic in the blood stream, but had severe side effects.  After WWII, the US was particularly concerned about nuclear war and radiation fallout.  The government stocked up on EDTA, as it was more effective (and safer) than the British chelating agent.

At the same time, a doctor at Georgetown University, Charles Geschickter, used chelation to remove toxic nickel complexes from a cancer patient who had undergone chemotherapy.  However, little attention was paid to this successful application.  It wasn’t until the 1950’s, when the US military used EDTA to treat lead poisoning, that chelation therapy gained more attention.  Patients recovered not only from their lead poisoning, but also experienced a wide range of beneficial side affects, including improved memory and concentration and reductions in chest pains and arteriosclerosis.

To learn more about the history of EDTA chelation, be sure to come back to the blog this week!  We’ll go more into the uses of EDTA in medicine since the 1950’s and the research initiatives behind it.  You can also learn more about oral chelation for heart health at Cardio Renew!