Tylenol and Autism: What’s True and What Isn’t

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Monday, the Trump administration linked the use of Tylenol with rising autism rates, but science doesn’t support that claim. Guest host Sydney Lupkin talks to autism researcher Helen Tager-Flusberg about how autism is studied, the findings from decades of research, and what people–especially those who are pregnant–should do when they experience pain or fever. Plus, we dig into guidance behind using leucovorin to treat autism.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Dean Regis here, astronomer and host of Looking Up.
0:03.6	I journey to the far reaches of the universe, hearing from scientists, astronauts, and geeky celebs along the way.
0:10.6	We cover everything from black holes to the latest in science fiction.
0:14.7	Listen now to the Looking Up podcast from the NPR Network and Cincinnati Public Radio.
0:20.2	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR Network and Cincinnati Public Radio. You're listening to Shortwave.
0:23.1	From NPR.
0:25.2	Hi, shortwavers.
0:26.8	Sydney Lepkin in the host chair today.
0:28.8	Thank you very much.
0:30.3	You probably heard the news this week.
0:33.3	Effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians at the use of
0:38.3	acid, well, let's see how we say that.
0:41.3	Acetaminophen. Acetaminophen.
0:45.3	Is that okay?
0:48.3	Which is basically commonly known as Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism.
1:02.1	The president flanked by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Dr. Mehmet Oz, said the common painkiller was to
1:12.4	blame for rising autism rates. They said they would update the drug's label. And they also said
1:18.2	they would work to update the approval for a vitamin B drug, Leukovorin, as a treatment for autism.
1:24.2	That's one of the things that I'm very, very happy about. But the lack of scientific
1:29.6	evidence for this new guidance has experts worried. This has been the most devastating week of my career.
1:36.8	I had no idea how extremist the perspective would be.
1:49.7	Helen Tager Flussberg is a professor emerita at Boston University in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
	...

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