this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2025
236 points (98.0% liked)

News

32974 readers
6551 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Mr. Paxton filed the suit against Johnson & Johnson, which sold Tylenol for decades, and Kenvue, a spinoff company that has sold the drug since 2023.

The Texas lawsuit claims that the companies knowingly withheld evidence from consumers about Tylenol’s links to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The suit also claims that Kenvue was created to shield Johnson & Johnson from liability over Tylenol.

This lawsuit is the first by a state that seizes on Mr. Trump’s allegations that the use of acetaminophen products like Tylenol during pregnancy could cause neurodevelopmental disorders. The issue has been a longstanding concern among some followers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, but the idea gained traction with Mr. Trump’s remarks.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 61 points 2 days ago (5 children)

We’ve had two whole generations of people using acetaminophen during pregnancy. Why have we not seen a massive uptick in autism to match? After accounting for increased screening and changes in definition and attribution, there’s a slight rise in autism rates that doesn’t align at all with acetaminophen use.

And where are the J&J studies showing that the supposed link was known to that particular company?

They’d do much better targeting plastic and PFAS manufacturers, as their products are known to cause the cellular mutations that can lead to cancer and autism.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 77 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

We have seen a massive uptick. That's the whole problem. In 1970 the rate was 1:10,000 and now it's 1:30

But the reason for the massive uptick is because we understand autism better and can diagnose it easier. But idiots don't understand that and assume something must be making more autistic kids than before.

[–] Pipster@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 2 days ago

Paracetamol also causes left handed-ness

[–] cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 20 points 2 days ago

Correct. So many people are only being diagnosed as adults with autism now precisely because they were never diagnosed as children because we didn't even really have it defined at that time and didn't understand the full scope of the condition. It's not that they "became" autistic, it's that our definition and understanding of it evolved to include them retrospectively. Tylenol did not cause this. Understanding did.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Not to mention, we have tons of documentation of people behaving and expressing in ways that would now be diagnosed as ASD, prior to ASD existing as a diagnosis ~~and~~ acetaminophen. Explain that.

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Which creates the question. If the spectrum of autism is so wide and common does that mean autism is not a disorder or condition but just one of the many common traits of humans but some people (much like athleticism) have a stronger ability?

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I guess that would depend on whether or not it is an evolutionary advantage. I can see it, in some niches, and especially in pre-industrial era. I think the same is true of ADHD.

I get that that sounds crass or even eugenecistic (?), but that's, kinda, how it is. Traits that are considered advantageous are gifts; traits that are considered disadvantageous are considered disorders.

The same could be said of athleticism, if there's some generic mutation that i.e. makes muscle mass develop rapidly, I could easily see that as being a marker for heart disease or various types of cancer, making hyperathleticism a disorder.

But I guess you could say that that's also on a spectrum.

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Kinda reminds me how in ancients Scandinavian some people with mental illness were either seer's or seen as gifted by the gods. Nowadays we call it schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah. People with ADHD, Autism, etc...we get special powers. The problem is, we aren't built for this world. It's too damn busy and overstimulating. I just want to live in a cave and pick berries. I bet I'd be good at that.

Preaching to the choir on that one, got diagnosis with autism when I was like 3. But yeah throw me on the woods and once I get past the initial discomfort I'd probably do alright.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Just like blindness, cancer and obesity are among the many common traits of humans.

The fact that something naturally occurs doesn't mean it's not pathological.

I'm not implying autism is necessarily a pathology, only that the reasoning is unsound that concludes that it's not because it naturally occurs.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Explain that.

Acetaminophen could still be a cause, even if autism existed before it was used.

There's no evidence that's true, though.

ASD = Acetaminophen Scary Disorder

[–] uberdroog@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

So autism is just a human condition and the spectrum includes ALL people?

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

In the same way that degree of religiosity is a spectrum and I, as an atheist, am included at the zero end of the distribution.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No, it's just more common than previously thought. It's still a developmental disorder where the brain didn't form normally.

[–] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 0 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

"Developmental Disorder" refers to a child's development after birth, not before. ASD is a developmental disorder yes, but afaik there's no evidence it is caused by a prenatal issue, ex. the brain not "forming normally".

Neurotypically, there is no "normal", there's only "does it cause issues". My understanding is that, so far, it just seems like some human brains have ASD, and the spectrum is a measure of how much it causes them issues (more specifically, is a measure of how much assistance they need to function). But there's nothing "abnormal" about having ASD any more than it's "abnormal" to be born tone deaf.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No, autism is a Developmental disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.

And it's pretty well known that there are differences in how the brain forms in autistic people.

Results demonstrate early brain overgrowth during infancy and the toddler years in autistic boys and girls, followed by an accelerated rate of decline in size and perhaps degeneration from adolescence to late middle age in this disorder.

[–] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

~~Please re-read. I said ASD is Developmental Disorder. My correction was that you are misusing the term Developmental Disorder to mean Prenatal Development. Your second link agrees with my correction.~~

I think this is my bad. You said "the brain didn't form normally" and I interpreted that to mean prenatal. But you are referring to during youth, which the paper is about. TIL, thanks 👍

But I will still say, "abnormal" doesn't mean "bad" here, which the right seem to be conflating in all their rhetoric. As I understand it, ASD is just an evolutionary mutation. The extent to which it helps/hinders each person is up to their environment. And the right, by saying ASD is abnormal and therefore bad, are creating a hindering environment.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I mean, it's literally a disability. I'm not disparaging those with ASD, my wife has it and I'm a bit on it (mostly ADHD). But I definitely won't pretend that it doesn't make life more challenging by default.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's possible to have both autism and ADHD, but that doesn't mean ADHD is a form of autism.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 1 points 1 day ago

I never said ADHD was autism

[–] freedom@lemy.lol 2 points 2 days ago

Don’t discount the internet coming into existence and more and more social isolation in developed nations.

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 38 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You are approaching this all wrong.

It's not about evidence. It's not about science.

It's about what feels good

collapsed inline mediaYDmBviIVSXpe8AI.jpg

I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I will always upvote The Demon-Haunted World. Should be required reading for every adult.

[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago

It would certainly result in a lot fewer so-called "adults" who have an Imaginary Friend in the Sky

[–] n0respect@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

If you're in high school or college, read this book!

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

It's about what makes some con artist money.

[–] IHeartBadCode@fedia.io 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What gets me is that studies show that autism is highly genetic.

In identical twins, ASD in one usually leads to a diagnosis of ASD in the other 96% of the time. Which lines up with a high affinity to genetic factors.

In fraternal twins we have seen, a 16% when a given sex ASD is diagnosed leading to an opposite sex ASD diagnosis. A 36% when a female ASD is diagnosed leading to a female ASD diagnosis. And a 31% when a male ASD is diagnosed leading to a male ASD diagnosis.

This lines up with genetic factors from a particular parent that are expressed with the gonosomes. That it affects higher in women is a hint that it may be within the X complex gonosomes. If Tylenol played a serious role in the development of those things then we'd see different data here. That opposite sex fraternal is nearly half the amount for same sex fraternal, really hammers home the notion that we're dealing with something genetic. But at the same time we don't know what genes.

The core argument with RFK is oxidative stress. But literally everything causes oxidative stress, not getting the correct amount of sleep causes oxidative stress. And that's the bigger issue with the studies that RFK has forwarded about Tylenol. Their argument is a confusion of causation and correlation.

And this has been pointed out by a ton of concerned scientist. That's not to dismiss the data that RFK has provided, it is pointing out that the data they are using doesn't point to the conclusion they are indicating directly.

I can imagine that Texas could possibly prevail on their case given that even scientist, including the ones RFK cites, aren't 100% sure that Tylenol has any role in any of this. This isn't the first time some group or even a State sued over poor science, but it's really frustrating because Texas has a duty to provide for their citizens and here they are using a poor conclusion to some data to do something that's no in the interest of their citizens.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

get outta here with your science. Drinking Mountain Dew prevents gayness.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

There was alsoa few years in the 80s when acetominophen was recalled and no one used it beacuse of fear. No effect in autism rates. Just like lower vaccine uptake last decade has not affected autism rates. We let the idiots do the experiment.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

All these issues already existed before acetaminophen was even discovered. This is the result of letting incompetence go wild

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

Many countries avoid this drug because of its strong liver toxicity. No differences in autism rates.

collapsed inline media