This paper reviews a large number of studies finding a link between acetaminophen use (as in Tylenol) and the diagnosis of autism in children. The main focus of the paper is that autism appears to be related to elevated levels of inflammation and cell malfunction from oxidative stress (elevated levels of free radicals). The authors report a sibling-controlled study of 48,000 children in which acetaminophen use in pregnancy increased problems in the child's psychomotor, behavioral, and temperamental development at age 3. Another study of 7,000 children found use of acetaminophen in pregnancy increased hyperactivity and emotional symptoms at age 7. Other similar studies were reported as well.
ABSTRACT
The wide range of factors associated with the induction of autism is invariably linked with either inflammation or oxidative stress, and sometimes both. The use of acetaminophen in babies and young children may be much more strongly associated with autism than its use during pregnancy, perhaps because of well-known deficiencies in the metabolic breakdown of pharmaceuticals during early development. Thus, one explanation for the increased prevalence of autism is that increased exposure to acetaminophen, exacerbated by inflammation and oxidative stress, is neurotoxic in babies and small children. This view mandates extreme urgency in probing the long-term effects of acetaminophen use in babies and the possibility that many cases of infantile autism may actually be induced by acetaminophen exposure shortly after birth.