Family Life

06.24.10 |

The Food and Drug Administration is blasting the maker of a dangerous toxin being marketed as a homeopathic remedy for autism. The "Chicago Tribune" reports that the FDA sent a terse warning letter last week to Boyd Haley, a retired chemist and folk hero to the autism recovery movement, warning of legal action and even criminal prosecution. The letter detailed five violations of drug safety laws related to a product called OSR-Number-One made by Haley's Lexington, Kentucky-based company, CTI Science. The compound was developed to take heavy metals out of mining wastewater and can cause debilitating pancreas problems, hair loss and the leaking of a "dark substance" in the "anogenital area."

 The compound has apparently undergone exactly zero medical testing for use in humans, and there are no completed, scientific, peer-reviewed studies of its alleged therapeutic effects. Haley has insisted that since OSR-Number-One is a dietary supplement, it doesn't have to undergo rigorous drug testing, a claim the FDA flatly rejected. The compound, sold on CTI's website in 100-milligram tablets, has been touted on autism websites such as Age of Autism. The "Tribune" says that in an interview last year, the newspaper demanded to see documentation of Haley's research but he cut off contact with the reporter.