U.S. doctor charged with manslaughter of autistic boy by botched chelation therapy

Nov 19 2007

A doctor in America has been accused of causing the death of a 5-year-old autistic boy.

The doctor, Dr. Roy Kerry of Portersville, Butler County, has been charged with manslaughter after incorrectly administering a controversial chemical treatment.

Dr. Kerry apparently used the wrong drug and then administered it incorrectly; he was attempting to use chelation therapy on Abubakar Tariq Nadama in his surgery in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

Chelation therapy is used as a treatment for acute mercury, iron, arsenic, lead, uranium, plutonium and other forms of toxic metal poisoning; it does not have federal approval for treating autism.

The 5 year old was given an IV injection that administered all the medication intravenously at once rather than injecting the chemical over the course of several hours, which is the preferred method.

The boy immediately went into cardiac arrest in Kerry's office on August 23, 2005 and according to a pediatrician who testified for the prosecution, he used the wrong drug, administered it incorrectly and his actions were "extremely reckless".

Autopsy results on the boy indicate he died because the drug Disodium EDTA (Disodium Edentate) removed the calcium from his blood, rather than calcium EDTA (Calcium Disodium Edetate) which is FDA-approved to treat heavy metal poisoning.

It was the sudden drop in calcium which killed him.

The medical assistant who administered the treatment, said they regularly administered chelation therapy to adults, but not as an IV push and Nadama's was the only IV push she ever did.

The doctor will also stand trial on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment but as he has no prior conviction, he is unlikely to face the maximum sentence of decades in prison.

Some parents believe that mercury in the preservative used in most child vaccines until 2002 caused autism, but there is little science to support the idea and it is very contentious issue.

Dr. Kerry denies the charges and has denied any wrongdoing.

The boy’s parents, Mawra and Rufai Nadama, had moved to America from their home in Plymouth, UK so he could receive the treatment and they have filed a wrongful death suit against Dr. Kerry.

Dr. Kerry says following the first two treatments the boy’s autism symptoms improved.

Pennsylvania’s physician licensing agency filed six disciplinary charges in September against Dr. Kerry, including unprofessional conduct and breaching the standard of care.