"Unapproved chelation products are dangerously misleading because they target patients and the caregivers of patients with untreatable conditions," Ritchie said. "These are in fact unapproved drugs," Prentiss Levy, director of the FDA's division of new drugs and labeling compliance, said at a news conference. The federal agency sent warning letters to eight companies that sell chelation treatments online.

Several of the companies cited today by the FDA promoted their chelation products as treatments for autism and other chronic diseases. Approved chelation drugs are available only by prescription and should be administered only by trained health professionals. "Chelation can be dangerous and cause serious harm," Lee said at the news conference. "These companies falsely claimed that these drugs treat a variety of ailments, including autism and heart disease." Chelation is a technique for treating people who have been poisoned with heavy metals such as lead, mercury, iron, and arsenic. FDA medical officer Ikey Lee, MD, noted that chelation can have serious side effects, particularly when people use the drugs or give them to children without medical supervision.

The companies were told to immediately stop selling the products.