The China Mail - Trump expected to tie autism risk to Tylenol as scientists urge caution

Identifying the cause of autism -- a complex condition connected to brain development that many experts believe occurs for predominantly genetic reasons -- has been a pet cause of Trump's controversial health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Earlier this year, Kennedy -- well-known for his anti-vaccine views and penchant for conspiracy theories -- vowed he would release findings regarding autism's cause by September 2025.

Trump teased the forthcoming announcement, scheduled for 4:00 pm local time (2000 GMT), as "one of the most important news conferences I'll ever have."

"I think we found an answer to autism, how about that?" he said, speaking to a huge crowd at the memorial of Charlie Kirk, the slain right-wing activist.

The administration's recent initiative to uncover autism's roots has been widely criticized, not least due to reports that the health department hired vaccine skeptic and de-licensed physician David Geier to lead the charge.

Kennedy has spent decades pushing discredited claims that link vaccines to autism.

The Trump government's expected focus on acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is likely to meet broad critique.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are among the major medical groups who have identified Tylenol as among the safest options for pain relief and fever reduction during pregnancy. Doctors already warn against its long-term use.

Another common over-the-counter pain reliever, ibuprofen, is generally considered unsafe for pregnant people, especially after the 20th week.

Speaking to journalists Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt withheld concrete details of what was to come, but insisted that "everyone in this room needs to tone down the judgment before you even hear what people are going to say."

- 'Nuanced and uncertain' -

US media reports have also indicated the announcement could include discussion of a potential treatment for autism, the drug leucovorin, which experts say needs far more research but has shown some promise in small-scale trials.

A literature review published last month concluded there was reason to believe a possible link between Tylenol exposure and autism existed -- but other studies have found an opposite result.

Researchers behind the August report cautioned that more study is needed and that pregnant people should not stop taking medication without consulting their doctors.

David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP that research suggests the possible risks posed by taking Tylenol while pregnant seem "to be lower than the risk of having an uncontrolled infection during pregnancy."

The professor of psychiatry also emphasized that digging into the interaction of genetic and environmental factors is an area of critical research, but that to take on those studies with rigor demands decades of study and funding.

"They said it was going to happen by September. And so there's an incredible pressure and urgency to come up with something," he said of the administration's push.

That's led to a "cherry-picked" justification of pre-formed conclusions rather than "an honest appraisal of the data," he added.

The Coalition of Autism Scientists called it "highly irresponsible and potentially dangerous to claim links between potential exposures and autism when the science is far more nuanced and uncertain."

"Secretary Kennedy's announcement will cause confusion and fear," said the group in a statement.

C.Mak--ThChM