WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump signaled Monday that an upcoming public service declaration will reveal “amazing” findings linking autism too artificial causes, potentially including medicines and analgesics like Tylenol, according to remarks made during a cabinet meeting last month. The announcement is anticipated alongside the release of funding decisions from a new Autism Research Program spearheaded by current Health and Human services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who has previously promoted debunked theories connecting vaccines to autism, stated in April that his agency would provide answers this month regarding the disorder’s causes. The National Institutes of Health is expected to announce 25 beneficiaries of a $50 million call for research proposals submitted to the Autism Research Program.
During the cabinet meeting, Kennedy claimed, “we are finding…certain interventions that now clearly, almost certainly, cause autism, and we can address them in september.” Trump responded, “There must be something artificial causing this, that is, a medicine or something.”
While the specifics of the forthcoming announcement remain unclear, pediatrician Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for the progress of Vaccines at Texas Children’s Hospital, expressed skepticism regarding evidence linking acetaminophen to autism, calling it “not very convincing.” hotez noted that genetics explain the vast majority of autism cases, tho environmental factors during early pregnancy can interact wiht autism-related genes.
hotez cautioned against focusing solely on a single factor like Tylenol, stating, “Focusing a whole press conference only in Tylenol would be irresponsible in my opinion, without more information.” He also suggested that potential treatments like leucovorina may only be effective for specific subtypes of autism, given the disorder’s complex genetic basis involving over 100 genes.
