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J. Med. Toxicol. (2013) 9:13 DOI 10.1007/s13181-012-0277-4
EDITORIAL
Commentary on Transdermal DMPS
Charles McKay
Published online: 6 December 2012# American College of Medical Toxicology 2012
Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect.
The Examiner No. XIV (November 9, 1710)
Thus, did Jonathan Swift, an eighteenth century political activist, author, and satirist, characterize the art of political lying [1] several years before his writing of the allegorical Gullivers Travels, in which he lampooned the pseudoscientific fads and scams of his day. In this issue of the Journal of Medical Toxicology, Jennifer Cohen and colleagues provide a simple, elegant evaluation of a modern-day scam, so-called TD-DMPS [2]. The dermal application of a preparation of the chelating agent, sodium 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonate (DMPS), has been promoted and reportedly patented [3] as a treatment for autism. Data exist on both the oral and parenteral absorption and kinetics of DMPS; and increased urinary excretion of a number of heavy metals occurs, irrespective of metal excess, when this compound (now renamed (RS)-2,3-bis(sulfanyl)propane-1-sulfonic acid, 1 H2O sodium salt) is administered orally or
parenterally [4]. However, there were no data available as to the dermal absorption of this compound.
Cohen et al. obtained this non-FDA approved product via a compounding pharmacy and applied it to the skin of eight adult volunteers according to a protocol promoted by a practitioner still licensed in North Carolina [3]. Twelve-hour complete urine collections (and a 24-h collection for one individual) were then assayed for both DMPS and changes in urine mercury excretion as an end point of chelator effectiveness. A positive control was also tracked after oral ingestion of the DMPS. There were no notable changes in urinary mercury excretion following dermal application of the DMPS. No subject had detectable plasma or urine DMPS when measured by the FDA Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis (other than one plasma sample from one patient which was thought to have been contaminated by DMPS on the skin at the time of blood draw).
The manufacturer of DMPS (HEYL Chemischpharmazeutishce Fabrik) concludes in their product monograph (dated 2008) that
I cannot imagine that adequate blood levels of DMPS are...