PreventAutism.org
Category 5
Mechanisms of Action
Mechanisms of action are the way scientists talk about how something works, especially as it relates to the body. This evidence is not all specific to babies, but it all still sheds light on the way that acetaminophen interacts with human bodies.
The lines of evidence related to mechanisms of action make up 12.5% of the total evidence.
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Acetaminophen is highly toxic in the presence of oxidative stress (when there's too many things for the body to "burn" or clean out)
Acetaminophen is known to be highly toxic in the presence of oxidative stress. The mechanism by which this toxicity occurs has been established for decades
20
Children with autism cannot metabolize acetaminophen well, which makes the drug much more toxic
Genetic and immune factors associated with an increased risk of autism have a detrimental effect on the body’s ability to metabolize acetaminophen, making the drug much more toxic
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Individuals with cystic fibrosis are not prone to autism, and they also have metabolism that efficiently processes acetaminophen, which makes the drug much less toxic
Cystic fibrosis is associated with unusually efficient (effective) metabolism of acetaminophen, which makes the drug much less toxic, and concurrently some evidence suggests that the prevalence of autism may be very low in patients with cystic fibrosis
22
Acetaminophen has never been proven to be safe for babies and children
Despite the fact that acetaminophen targets the brain, acetaminophen use in babies and children was only proven safe for short-term side effects, not for brain development
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Multiple studies show acetaminophen affects the social function of the brain in adults
Acetaminophen use in adults temporarily blunts social trust and awareness, emotional responses to external stimuli, and the ability to identify errors, indicating that the drug targets regions of the brain affected in patients with autism
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The similarities between autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder suggest that autism is chemically induced