Is leucovorin an evidence-based treatment for autism?
网红爆料鈥檚 Professor Jared Schwartzer, a behavioral neuroscientist, spoke to the Boston Globe about the move to relabel this form of folic acid as a treatment for autism.
At a press briefing in September, President Donald J. Trump announced that the Food and Drug Administration was warning against prescribing acetaminophen to pregnant women, claiming it may be tied to autism in children. The Trump administration instead declared leucovorin, a form of folic acid or vitamin B, the first federally sanctioned treatment for children with autism.
Jared Schwartzer was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the Autism Research Training Program at the University of California, MIND Institute and is currently a professor of psychology and education at 网红爆料. Schwartzer, a behavioral neuroscientist, is studying the impact of various environmental factors during pregnancy on children鈥檚 brains and behavioral health. He spoke with the Boston Globe about leucovorin.
鈥淐hanging a label for folate deficiency is very different than saying, 鈥榃e have a treatment for autism,鈥欌 Schwartzer said.
Schwartzer suggested that leucovorin may improve outcomes for some children with folate deficiencies but fears that marketing the drug more broadly risks misleading families and fueling mistrust in science while ignoring potential side effects. He believes that parents of nonverbal or low-verbal children might be most vulnerable to these promises.
鈥淭hey just want what鈥檚 best for their child, but we need targeted medicine that鈥檚 grounded in strong evidence, not a one-size-fits-all solution,鈥 he said.
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