Coroner finds chelation therapy killed boy

When a 5-year-old autistic boy died during chelation therapy last August in Philadelphia, it was unknown whether the treatment actually killed him or it was just a tragic coincidence. But now, a coroner has confirmed that it was the ethylene diamine tetra-acetate (EDTA) administered for the purposes of chelation that deprived Abubakar Tariq Nadama's brain of oxygen and did irreversible damage to his heart muscle, directly causing his death. At this time, the death is being ruled as accidental, but the possibility has been raised that a coroner's inquest may cause that determination to change. For more information on chelation therapy, see the list of links on the About.com Autism Spectrum Disorders site.