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Trump’s Tylenol Directive Could Actually Increase Autism Rates, Researchers Warn


Experts fear that Donald Trump’s anti-painkiller tirade could lead to an increase in risk factors for autism, and don’t trust the administration to assess data as it continues to search for a cause.

For decades, the discussion around autism has been a hotbed of misinformation, misinterpretation, and bad science, ranging from the long-discredited link between the neurodevelopmental condition and vaccines, to newer claims that going gluten-free and avoiding ultra-processed foods can reverse autistic traits. David Amaral, professor and director of research at the UC Davis MIND Institute, was among those watching in dismay as the president launched into a diatribe about Tylenol, repeatedly warning pregnant women not to take it, even to treat fevers. While the National Institutes of Health are reportedly planning confirmatory trials of leucovorin in autistic children, a concern among researchers WIRED spoke to is that the autism field has long been plagued by excessive hype and false dawns.

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