Research article

Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: Part A - Medical results

James B Adams¹ , Matthew Baral² , Elizabeth Geis³ , Jessica Mitchell² , Julie Ingram³ , Andrea Hensley³ , Irene Zappia³ , Sanford Newmark⁴ , Eva Gehn³ , Robert A Rubin⁵ , Ken Mitchell³ , Jeff Bradstreet^2,6 and Jane El-Dahr⁷

¹Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Tempe, AZ, USA

²Department of Pediatric Medicine, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Tempe, AZ, USA

³Autism Research Institute, San Diego, CA, USA

⁴Center for Integrative Pediatric Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA

⁵Department of Mathematics, Whittier College, Whittier, CA, USA

⁶International Child Development Resource Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA

⁷Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

author email corresponding author email

BMC Clinical Pharmacology 2009, 9:16doi:10.1186/1472-6904-9-16

Published:	23 October 2009

Abstract

Background

This study investigated the effect of oral dimercapto succinic acid (DMSA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders ages 3-8 years.

Methods

Phase 1 involved 65 children who received one round of DMSA (3 days). Participants who had high urinary excretion of toxic metals were selected to continue on to phase 2. In phase 2, 49 participants were randomly assigned in a double-blind design to receive an additional 6 rounds of either DMSA or placebo.

Results

DMSA greatly increased the excretion of lead, substantially increased excretion of tin and bismuth, and somewhat increased the excretion of thallium, mercury, antimony, and tungsten. There was some increase in urinary excretion of essential minerals, especially potassium and chromium. The Phase 1 single round of DMSA led to a dramatic normalization of RBC glutathione in almost all cases, and greatly improved abnormal platelet counts, suggesting a significant decrease in inflammation.

Conclusion

Overall, DMSA therapy seems to be reasonably safe, effective in removing several toxic metals (especially lead), dramatically effective in normalizing RBC glutathione, and effective in normalizing platelet counts. Only 1 round (3 days) was sufficient to improve glutathione and platelets. Additional rounds increased excretion of toxic metals.