President Donald Trump and his top health aides plan to link a common over-the-counter pain medication to autism and name another drug as a possible treatment for the brain development condition.
Administration officials are expected to warn pregnant women against taking acetaminophen, often sold under the brand name Tylenol, except in cases of high fever. This warning comes even though acetaminophen has long been considered the safest option for managing headaches, fever and other pain during pregnancy.
Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump administration health officials also are expected to discuss a medication called leucovorin as a potential treatment for autism. But what exactly is that?
Leucovorin, also known as folinic acid, is high-dose prescription drug. Leucovorin now is prescribed to counteract the toxic effects chemotherapy medications such as methotrexate. It's also used as a treatment for anemia.
More recently, some researchers have sought to study leucovorin as a possible treatment for autism.
