In late September, President Trump approached a podium in the Roosevelt Room at the White House to make an announcement. People who are pregnant should not take Tylenol.
"Effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians that the use of ... acetaminophen ... during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism," he stated. "So taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good."
This announcement appeared to be an attempt to make good on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr's April promise to find a cause for the increase in autism diagnoses in the United States by September.
But is there a Tylenol connection? We spoke with developmental behavioral pediatrician Nhung Tran, MD, about what science says about acetaminophen and autism.
We also explored the president's recommendation that children get the MMR as separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella, saying "if you mix them, there could be a problem," but offering no evidence to support that claim. What is known about any potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism? Do children later diagnosed with autism regress after getting the first dose of the two-dose vaccine? Dr. Tran talks about that, as well as whether a form of folate called folinic acid — known as leucovorin, when sold by prescription — can treat symptoms of autism, another claim made by the president.
