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What the probe says astir Tylenol and autism
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to denote that the usage of Tylenol by large women whitethorn beryllium linked to autism successful children, according to a study Friday successful the Wall Street Journal — which the Department of Health and Human Services said was "speculation."
This comes aft Kennedy said successful April that HHS would undertake a "massive investigating and probe effort" to find the origin of autism. Kennedy astatine the clip said the program was to merchandise a broad study successful September.
However, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said aboriginal that month the findings could instrumentality up to a year.
Kennedy has successful the past made the unfounded assertion that autism is simply a "preventable disease," drafting heavy criticism from galore aesculapian experts.
How did Kenvue and HHS respond to the WSJ report?
In a connection provided to CBS News connected Friday, an HHS spokesperson called the Journal's study "speculation."
"We are utilizing gold-standard subject to get to the bottommost of America's unprecedented emergence successful autism rates. Until we merchandise the last report, immoderate claims astir its contents are thing much than speculation," the spokesperson said.
And successful a abstracted connection successful effect to the WSJ story, Kenvue, the shaper of Tylenol — whose progressive constituent is acetaminophen — said that "we person continuously evaluated the subject and proceed to judge determination is nary causal nexus betwixt acetaminophen usage during gestation and autism. To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and starring aesculapian organizations hold connected the information of acetaminophen, its usage during pregnancy, and the accusation provided connected the label."
Later Friday, Kenvue said successful a abstracted connection that "we admit the Secretary acknowledging media sum connected the upcoming HHS study is 'nothing much than speculation.'"
What bash aesculapian experts say?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said successful a connection provided to CBS News connected Friday that "there is nary wide grounds that proves a nonstop narration betwixt the prudent usage of acetaminophen during gestation and fetal developmental issues."
"Neurodevelopmental disorders, successful particular, are multifactorial and precise hard to subordinate with a singular cause," ACOG said. "Pregnant patients should not beryllium frightened distant from the galore benefits of acetaminophen, which is harmless and 1 of the fewer options large radical person for symptom relief."
CBS News main aesculapian analogous Dr. Jon LaPook said Friday helium is looking guardant to speechmaking the upcoming study pledged by Kennedy, "especially the grounds down immoderate conclusions and recommendations."
"I spoke this day to a researcher who was portion of a major study published conscionable past twelvemonth that followed 2.5 cardinal children successful Sweden implicit 25 years," LaPook said. "He said usage of acetaminophen ... was not associated with an accrued hazard of autism successful children."
Autism has go much prevalent successful children calved successful the U.S. implicit the past 25 years, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But determination is nary technological statement connected the reasons why.
In an interrogation with CBS News connected Friday, Dr. Christine Ladd-Acosta — an subordinate prof of epidemiology astatine the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the vice manager for the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities — said probe shows that the causes of autism "are complex."
"There person been a fewer twelve studies looking astatine Tylenol and whether usage during gestation is associated with hazard of autism successful those women's children, and the grounds has been truly benignant of conflicting ... Some studies person shown nary association," Ladd-Acosta said. "Some person shown a affirmative association. Some person shown antagonistic associations. And I deliberation portion of that is due to the fact that it's truly hard to tease isolated ... Whether it's the medicine itself that is influencing autism hazard successful the child, oregon if it has to bash with the information ... the parent is utilizing the medicine to dainty that is the happening that is important successful autism risk."
Ladd-Acosta noted that the dosage, the "length of time" that large women are taking Tylenol, and the "specific condition" they are taking it for are each factors that person been considered erstwhile attempting to find if determination is simply a imaginable relation betwixt the medicine and autism.
"There person been immoderate associations, but determination has been nary conclusive grounds I've seen to amusement that Tylenol itself causes autism definitively," Ladd-Acosta said.
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