The aetiology of neurodegenerative diseases (ND) seems to involve susceptibility genes and environmental factors. Toxic metals are considered major environmental pollutants. Following our study of a case of multiple sclerosis (MS) improvement due to removal of aluminium (Al) and other toxic metals, we have examined the possible relationship between Al intoxication and ND. We used the slow intravenous treatment with the chelating agent EDTA (calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) (chelation test) to remove Al and detected it in the urine collected from the patients for 12 hours. Patients affected by MS represented 85.6% of total ND. Al was present in 44.8% of cases comprehensive of ND and healthy patients. Al levels were significantly higher in ND patients than in healthy subjects. We here show that treatment of patients affected by Al burden with ten EDTA chelation therapies (EDTA intravenous administration once a week) was able to significantly reduce Al intoxication.

We have previously described the role played by toxic-metal burdens in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases (ND). We herein report an updated evaluation of toxic-metal burdens in human subjects affected or not affected by ND or other chronic diseases. Each subject underwent a chelation test with the chelating agent calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (CaNA2EDTA or EDTA) to identify the presence of 20 toxic metals in urine samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Our results show the constant presence of toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium, cesium, and aluminum, in all examined subjects but the absence of beryllium and tellurium. Gadolinium was detected in patients undergoing diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging. The presence of toxic metals was always significantly more elevated in ND patients than in healthy controls. Treatment with EDTA chelation therapy removes toxic-metal burdens and improves patient symptoms.

IntroductionA great deal of data regarding the toxicology of mercury has been recently reported. Although the most common human exposures to mercury are currently mercury vapour from amalgam tooth fillings, methylmercury from seafood and ethylmercury as a preservative in vaccines, in the past mercury compounds have been used in the treatment of syphilis.Case presentationMercury intoxication was found in a 67 year-old Italian man affected by neurological symptoms of apparently unknown origin. The patient developed syphilis forty years ago and then underwent therapy with mercurials to treat his chronic bacterial infection. We treated the patient with disodium edetate chelation therapy.Six months after the beginning of the therapy, the patient's neurological symptoms began to decrease, and were completely cured after two years of therapy.ConclusionThis case supports the use of chelation therapy with disodium edetate to remove damages caused by mercury intoxication.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system (CNS) provoking disability and neurological symptoms. The exact causes of SM are unknown, even if it is characterized by focal inflammatory lesions in CNS accompanied by autoimmune reaction against myelin. Indeed, many drugs able to modulate the immune response of patients have been used to treat MS. More recently, toxic metals have been proposed as possible causes of neurodegenerative diseases. The objective of this study is to investigate in vivo the impact of heavy metal intoxication in MS progression. We studied the case of a patient affected by MS, who has been unsuccessfully treated for some years with current therapies. We examined his levels of toxic heavy metals in the urine, following intravenous "challenge" with the chelating agent calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA).The patient displayed elevated levels of aluminium, lead and mercury in the urine. Indeed, he was subjected to treatment with EDTA twice a month. Under treatment, the patient revealed in time improved symptoms suggestive of MS remission. The clinical data correlated with the reduction of heavy metal levels in the urine to normal range values. Our case report suggests that levels of toxic metals can be tested in patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases as MS.

Hyperhomocysteinemia is recognized as risk factor for cardiovascular and age-associated diseases. Folic acid supplementation efficiently lowers plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels, but high intake may negatively affect health because of unnatural levels of unmetabolized folic acid in the systemic circulation. Oxoproline (Oxo) provides by glutamic acid production an increase of intracellular folic acid trapping. Aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of three supplementation protocols: (1) traditional therapy (5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate: 15 mg/day); (2) 5 mL/day of Oxo with 300 μg folic acid (oxifolic); (3) 5 mL/day of Oxo alone (magnesio+) in a 90 days randomized trial on thirty-two moderate hyperhomocysteinemic (18.6 ± 2.4 μmol·L−1) patients (age 48 ± 14 years). Thiols: cysteine (Cys), cysteinylglycine (Cys–Gly) and glutathione levels were assessed too. Every supplementation induced significant (p range <0.05–0.0001) reductions of Hcy level and Cys concentration after the three protocols adopted. Otherwise glutathione concentration significantly increased after oxifolic (p < 0.01) and traditional (p < 0.05) supplementation. The integration of Oxo resulted an interesting alternative to traditional therapy because absence or minimal number of folates in the integrator eliminates any chance of excess that can constitute a long-term risk.