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MERCURY and Mercury Chelation (DMSA or The Battle Plan)

 (Please see our four-hour YouTube Audio-Visual Presentation on Mercury and Mercury Detoxification)

DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic acid) is a water-soluble di-sulfhydryl group bearing compound that binds tightly to Mercury, and then removes it from the body, via the urine and feces.  Mercury binds to single sulfhydryl groups on intracellular enzymes and DNA, poisoning them.  Mercury is also the most potent free radical catalyst that we are aware of, and Mercury wastes Selenium, our most important nutritional mineral.  DMSA, which contains two sulfhydryl groups, forms a double-strength bond with Mercury, and actually plucks Mercury off intracellular structures, depoisoning them. Mercury toxicity in humans begins with occupational, environmental, dental amalgam and contaminated fish Mercury exposure.  Mother Nature did not foresee that we would be exposed to Mercury in the late 20th Century.  Consequently we humans do not have an effective, innate mechanism to neutralize mercury or clear it from the body; all we can do with Mercury is to store it within our cells as metabolic garbage.  When we are young and healthy we can usually tolerate a limited Mercury burden, but as our intracellular Mercury levels build up with ongoing exposure, and our immune system and antioxidant defense systems deteriorate with ageing, then the Mercury spills out of its intracellular garbage bin to destroy us.  Mercury buildup has been linked to cardiovascular disease, cardiomyopathy, and an alphabet soup list of neurological disease states, beginning with Autism and ending with Alzheimers disease. 

 

If you have Mercury Amalgam dental fillings, then as you are reading this page your Mercury burden is increasing.   Amalgam fillings are constantly off gassing Mercury vapor, 80% of which is absorbed across the lungs and into the blood stream.  From there this fat-soluble, uncharged Mercury vapor easily diffuses across our fat-soluble cell membranes and into the cells of our body (Mercurys favorite targets are the brain, pituitary gland, and the kidneys), where it is promptly converted into non-fat soluble, ionic Mercury.  This charged, ionic Mercury cannot diffuse back out of the cell, across the cell membrane, and back into the circulation.  Thus Mercury that originates in amalgam fillings (and from other sources) becomes locked in within the cells of our body, and this locked in ionic Mercury then binds in a nearly irreversible manner to intracellular proteins, enzymes, and DNA, destroying them.  Without some form of external help, our system cannot rid the body of intracellular Mercury (the half-life of Mercury in the nervous system, the period of time it takes for of a Mercury burden to leave your brain cells, is estimated at 20 years).  The 20 year rule would apply, or course, only if ongoing exposure is halted, but thats not the case if you have Mercury amalgam fillings, or if you eat fish contaminated by Mercury, and here we have another problem. 

 

When we burn coal to generate electricity, Mercury within the coal is vaporized out into the atmosphere, only to return to the ground water in the form of acid rain.  This Mercury is not biodegradable; instead it will leach out into our waterways, and settle out on the bottom.  Plankton will ingest the Mercury, and attach a methyl group to it, forming Methyl Mercury, which like amalgam Mercury is fat soluble, so it readily enters cells and binds to intracellular proteins.  Small fish will eat the plankton, retaining the Mercury; the small fish will be consumed by larger fish, and in this process none of the Mercury is lost.  The end result is that the large Ocean fish, the ones we see on the dinner table such as Tuna, Swordfish, and Shark (fast-food fish is often Shark) will be loaded with Mercury.  The situation is even worse with fresh water fish.  Go out and obtain a fishing license; the license bureau will tell you which rivers and streams in your area have been closed to fishing due to Mercury contamination this is scary.  Its scary for us, but its even scarier for our kids and our unborn kids.  8% of American women of childbearing age have dangerously high levels of Mercury in their blood (which directly reflects Methyl Mercury intake from fish).  To make matters worse, the Mercury vapor that you inhale from your amalgam fillings passes directly through the placenta.  It is a sad fact that brain Mercury levels in infants, small children, and unborn children correlate directly with the number of amalgam fillings their Mother bears.  Amalgam Mercury also readily crosses over to the infant in the Mothers breast milk.  While Mercury is toxic to all of us, it is especially damaging to the developing nervous system of our children.  Vaccines, up until recently, contained Ethyl Mercury as a preservative; this Ethyl Mercury, just like Methyl Mercury form fish, easily passes across cell membranes and into the brain cells.  I could go on and on here, but I think Ive made my point.  Mercury exposure is essentially impossible to avoid in our society, and even if you take steps now to reduce your level of exposure, what are you going to do about the Mercury that is already residing within the cells of your body, and what are you going to do about the ongoing exposure to Mercury that you simply cannot avoid?  The key here is to fight back, to begin now on a program of Mercury detoxification.  Heres what you can do:

A. Undergo a provocative challenge study to estimate your base line soft tissue Mercury burden.

B. Begin a program of antioxidant and mineral supplementation.

C. If Mercury amalgam fillings are present, have them removed (with proper precautions) by a biologically oriented dentist (but do not delay Mercury chelation).

D. Begin Mercury Chelation.  When Dr. Boyd Haley's preparation (Emeramide) gets through FDA clearance, then this approach will be utilized. Until then we can utilize DMSA or The Battle Plan"
 


DMSA Chelation Therapy

DMSA, 100 mg/dose, may be obtained at a pharmacy under the brand name Chemet, or from northernhealthproducts.com.  
You can determine what your co-pay for prescription Chemet will be and then take the most cost-effective approach.

  

Dosing Schedules:

 

Three Day Weekend Approach:

 

DMSA, taken three times a day, three consecutive days, once every 3-4 weeks.

 

Start with ___ mg/dose (1st cycle) and advance by 100 mg/dose each cycle to target dose (typically 400-500 mg/dose).  Thus month one you take 100 gm three times a day over three days, month two you take 200 mg/dose, and then work up to the target dose. If you feel poorly you can simply decrease the dose to a tolerable level (and later you will likely be able to increase the dose)

 

 

Nightly Schedule:

 

300-500 mg of DMSA, near bedtime, 10-20days on and 10-2o days off.

 

 

Try to avoid taking DMSA with minerals (DMSA may bind them in the upper GI tract).  DMSA therapy could conceivably contribute to mineral deficiency, and thus if long-term therapy is planned I may ask you to begin a mineral supplement, such as:

 Complete Mineral Complex (DfH-CMI090)  __ daily  (taken away from your DMSA doses)

       


 

Battle Plan for Mercury

 

This Mercury detoxification protocol was created by my good friend and mentor (and now Guardian Angel) Robert Battle MD, of Houston, Texas.  The basic protocol involves:

A.  Chlorella, five tabs with meals (or three times a day), all days (binds metals).
B.  Burber, 8 drops in 2 oz. of water before each meal (or three doses/day) all days (Burber assists in mobilizing metals from deep tissue stores.  Let it set 1-2 mins. before consuming).
C.  Algas, 10 drops in 2 oz. of water (let it set 1-2 mins.) twice a day, on odd days.
D.  NDF, 8 drops under the tongue (sublingual) before breakfast and before diner (start with 1 drop and increase as tolerated), on even days.


The protocol is typically run over three months.  We may elect to increase or decrease the duration of treatment, in relations to your metal burden and other health factors.  If detox reactions, such as fatigue, muscle aching, or irritability develop, then please decrease the NDF dose for a period of time, then build the dose back up when you are feeling better. 

 

Additional treatments which will assist in this approach to detoxification include:
E.  Selenium (or Selenomethionine) 200 mcg/day (likely present in your multi).

F.  Additional Glutathione support would be ideal, and could take the form of:
1.  ReadiSorb Glutathione, to one tsp. daily Dr. Battle prefers this preparation.
2.  QuickSilver Glutathione, 1-2 pumps sublingual twice a day.
3.  Designs for Health Liposomal Glutathione 2 pumps sublingual daily).
4.  N-Acetyl Cysteine, 500 mg/day and/or Lipoic Acid 300 mg/day.
5.  Glutaclear one twice a day (also contains selenium and promotes Nrf2 translocation).
6.  Metalloclear one twice a day (promotes Metallothionine generation and Nrf2).

 

The Battle Plan may be used to address Mercury before we begin EDTA chelation (EDTA is more effective vs. Lead and Cadmium than against Mercury), but it has activity against these metals.  If you are undergoing periodic organic pollutant detoxification (Metagenics Clear Change program), please interrupt the Battle Plan while on Clear Change (we do not want to detoxify metals and organic pollutants at the same time).