I read an interesting journal article some time ago, and I thought you might be interested in the theories it presents.

The article was titled ‘Did Acetaminophen Provoke The Autism Epidemic?’, and it was written by Peter Good. This article was published in Volume 14, November 4, 2009 of the Alternative Medicine Review, and you can read a copy of it at this web link. 

http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/14/4/364.pdf

I don’t know much about Peter Good, but the article appears to be a coherent presentation of data presented by other researchers in some interesting study reports, and it left me pondering the implications and asking myself ‘What if they’re right?’

I think you’ll think the same way after reading it.

To summarize the author’s points –

– The increase in autism that we’re seeing seems to correlate with the timing of the generation of the belief that aspirin causes Reye’s Syndrome and a dramatic increase in acetaminophen use in infants and children.

– It further seems that the occurence of autism has shifted to what would best match a model that has non-hereditary damage occuring after childbirth.

– It has been observed that acetaminophen interferes with the processing of several toxins, and that autistic children appear to have impaired abilities relatve to processing and eliminating these same toxins.

– The link of aspirin to Reye’s Syndrome may not be as strong as currently believed.

I don’t know what the truth is, but to be on the safe side I’m recommending something other than acetaminophen from now on when people ask what I’d use for an infant or child.

Remember, I’m crazy… and just a pharmacist. Check with your Docs and Primary Care Providers for their recommendations. I’m pretty sure they’re not in love with acetaminophen, either.