The president and the health secretary said painkillers increase the risk of autism, but research is unknown and doctors are being pushed back.
Autism and Tylenol: Take home Trump press conference
President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made controversial claims about Tylenol and autism
In the much-anticipated announcement, President Donald Trump and his top health care aides have announced a series of efforts aimed at understanding autism spectrum disorder, urging pregnant women not to take Tylenol unless absolutely necessary.
Trump’s comments included many of his own unconfirmed medical opinions, but outlined specific steps the federal government will take to educate pregnant women with Tylenol and prevent overprescribing.
Officials outlined new potential treatment of autism, which is not widely accepted in the medical community, and said they would spend money on studying environmental factors that contribute to autism.
“It’s not all 100% understood or known, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” Trump said.
This is the takeaway.
Trump has repeatedly reiterated the myths about vaccines
Trump has repeatedly filed a request to link autism to a vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. The myth comes from an article by Andrew Wakefield in 1998, which was retracted by the Lancet in 2010, but still remains popular among vaccine skeptics.
Trump suggested that people will be vaccinated separately against measles, mumps and rubella, without proof that they will separate the vaccine for longer periods.
He said that newborn babies should not receive the hepatitis B vaccine because the virus is typically sexually transmitted. However, he said it could spread hepatitis B and it could affect long-term health.
Trump also called for the removal of mercury and aluminum from the vaccine. Both metals have been studied and considered safe.
Authorities linked autism to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy
Trump recommended that pregnant women avoid taking acetaminophen during pregnancy and take as little as possible doses if they deem necessary “for example, in cases of very high fever.” He said pregnant women should only take Tylenol if they “can’t make it difficult.”
Over 20 studies have worldwide suggested a link between the use of acetaminophen in pregnant mothers and the use of acetaminophen in mothers of children diagnosed with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in later years. However, there were also research that exposed the link. In other words, there is no solid link to this drug.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services, admitted that there is no practical alternative to taking Tylenol during pregnancy, as other pain reliefers have been proven to be harmful. Therefore, he said he advised his doctors to prescribe acetaminophen to pregnant women only at the lowest possible dose, only for the shortest possible period of time, if treatment is required.
Food and Drug Director, Dr. Martin McCurry, has announced that his agency will approve a new label warning pregnant women about potential health effects.
Medicaid covers new treatments for autism
Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Medicaid, a public health insurance program that covers about half of American children, will begin covering prescription treatment for autism with leucovorin. Oz said he hopes private health insurance companies, who often follow what public health insurance companies do, will follow suit.
Leucovorin is prescribed for chemotherapy patients and anemia, but a November study in India found that children with autism are better on the drug than the placebo group. Alycia Halladay, chief science officer of the Autism Science Foundation, told USA Today that her organization does not consider Leucovorin to treat autism.
Oz said children still need prescriptions from their own doctors who know their health history to receive FDA-approved treatment.
Psychiatrists and Tylenol makers are being pushed back
Tylenol maker Kambo has issued the following statement that pushed the Trump administration back: “Independent science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.
The American Psychiatric Association hit a similar chord in their statement:
“Vaccinations do not cause autism, and claims of such association have been repeatedly trusted in peer-reviewed studies.
“Autism is a complex disorder and it is wrong to imply that a small number of studies have established causal relationships. Strong evidence shows that acetaminophen is safe for use during pregnancy.
“Leucovorin (folinic acid) is not the recommended treatment for autism. More research is needed before we know whether leucovorin is the right treatment for autistic individuals.”
There is no single scientifically resolved cause of autism yet
Scientists have linked a number of genetic and environmental factors to autism. This is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can manifest itself in a wide range of social and communication difficulties, but there is no single cause of autism agreed in the scientific community.
Trump has announced that the National Institutes of Health will issue a new grant to study the root causes of autism. Kennedy criticized previous research from the National Institutes of Health for focusing too much on genetic causes instead of environmental factors.
“It’s like studying the genetic causes of lung cancer without seeing cigarettes,” Kennedy said.
Contributors: Reuters, Ken Alltucker, Zach Anderson, Joey Garrison.
