US links prenatal acetaminophen to autism risk, promotes leucovorin.

The Trump administration is preparing to publicly link routine use of the pain reliever acetaminophen, commonly sold as Tylenol in the United States and paracetamol elsewhere, with an increased risk of autism in children and will advise pregnant women to avoid the drug unless treating a fever, officials said ahead of an announcement expected this week. At the same event, health officials plan to highlight preliminary research on leucovorin, a folinic acid derivative, as a possible treatment for symptoms in some autistic children, according to people briefed on the plans.

The proposal follows a federal review of factors that might be driving rising autism diagnoses and has been advanced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. President Donald Trump previewed the move in public remarks, saying investigators may have "found an answer to autism," and White House spokesman Kush Desai said the announcement would make "historic progress" on the administration's commitments.

The administration's position reflects a growing body of observational studies that report statistical associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and small increases in risks for...