Medical Use
Dimercaptosuccinic acid (CHEMET) is indicated for the treatment of lead poisoning in children with blood level measured above 45 µg/dL. The use of DMSA is not approved for prophylactic/prevention of lead poisoning in anticipation of exposure in known lead contaminated environments. Its elimination half-life is 2.5-3.5 h. DMSA can cross the blood–brain barrier of mice, but not that of humans, limiting its use to extracting heavy metals from parts of the body other than the central nervous system.
Another application for DMSA is for provocation of tissue heavy metals in anticipation of a urine test. This is sometimes called a "challenge" or "provoked" heavy metals test. DMSA is used to help mobilize heavy metals stored in body tissues (and therefore not typically present in the circulation) and increase the excretion of heavy metals in the urine. In a study by Howard Frumkin et al., this sort of test was shown to not reliably provide an indication of past chronic mercury exposure, something it was often used for. A 2004 study by GP Archbold, et al. called the results of a DMSA challenge test "misleading" for the purposes of diagnosing mercury toxicity.
Read more about this topic: Dimercaptosuccinic Acid
Famous quotes containing the word medical:
“Mark Twain didn’t psychoanalyze Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. Dickens didn’t put Oliver Twist on the couch because he was hungry! Good copy comes out of people, Johnny, not out of a lot of explanatory medical terms.”
—Samuel Fuller (b. 1911)
“Often, we expect too much [from a nanny]. We want someone like ourselves—bright, witty, responsible, loving, imaginative, patient, well-mannered, and cheerful. Also, we want her to be smart, but not so smart that she’s going to get bored in two months and leave us to go to medical school.”
—Louise Lague (20th century)