News media has not reported
this: at least one study published in the May 2008 issue of the journal Autism
has associated the use of Tylenol in tandem with the administration of the MMR
vaccine drastically increased risk of autism.
Schultz S.T. and colleagues of the University of California(San Diego) analyzed
data collected online through a survey of 83 children with autism and 80 control
children from July 16 2005 to Jan 30 2006 and found an association between the
use of acetaminophen (
paracetamol) and elevated risk of autism.
Specifically, acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was
linked to 6.11 fold higher risk of autistic disorder in children ages 5 years or
younger, 3.97 fold higher risk in children with regression in development, and
8.23 fold higher risk in those who had post-vaccination sequelae.
In contrast, ibuprofen use after MMR vaccine was not associated with autism
spectrum disorder.
Good P. published an article in Dec 14 2009 issue of Alternative
Medicine
Review - a journal of clinical therapeutics - saying that the exponential rise
in the incidence of autism began to occur in 1980 when acetaminophen began to
replace aspirin for infants and young children.
The switch from aspirin to Tylenol, according to Good, came after the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention warned that aspirin was associated with
Reye's syndrome.
Just days ago, The Lancet, a British medical journal, retracted a paper authored
by distinguished medical researchers led by Dr. Andrew Wakefield which found
that children with autism had received the MMR vaccine.
The retraction came 12 years after the UK General Medical Council's Fitness to
Practice Panel ruled on Jan 28 that "several elements of the 1998 paper by
Wakefield et al are incorrect" because the paper is "contrary to the findings of
another earlier investigation."
The journal's action did not prove that there wasn't any association between the
MMR vaccine and autism risk. It explained "the claims in the original paper
that children were "consecutively referred" and that investigations were
"approved" by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore
we fully retract this paper from the published r ..."
Additionally, Tylenol and vaccines are not the only suspected causes for
increased autism risk.
According to Dr. John Cannell, vitamin D deficiency, particularly in women
during pregnancy, can be a powerful risk factor for children's autism.
Hollywood couple Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy have treated their autistic son
with
nutrition supplements; they have found many positive benefits of
dietary supplementation.
By Jimmy downs and editing by Rachel Stockton