possible cause of autism?

Paracetamol was not available in UK without a prescription until 1988, so it's highly unlikely the mothers of us older autists would have taken it while pregnant. So if it wasn't the cause of autism decades ago, how could it be increasing autism risk now?

There seems to be a lot of "clutching at straws" or trying to blame someone /something because autism rates are rising. Whereas the reason is that many of us were missed when we were kids because it wasn't understood then, and more kids now are being diagnosed due to better understanding.

Lotus said:

if it wasn't the cause of autism decades ago, how could it be increasing autism risk now?

It may not be simply the chemical in Paracetamol but the family of chemicals - the fact there seems a statistically significant connection is at least a clue for them to work on.

Anything that brings us a step closer to understanding the cause is a good thing I feel.

Is there a natural form of paracetamol, like there is for aspirin? Willow bark has been used for hundreds of years for pain relief, it contains the pain killing chemical that pharmacists use to make aspirin.

There are records going back centuries for the use of opiates, such as poppy and wild lettuce juice. THere are things like Devils claw that seem to have the same properties as ibuprofen.

If the active chemical in paracetamol is found widely around the world in plants, then it could be that theres a causal link to past and previous use, or it could be that the seperation of the active pain relieving chemical has left behind those that support it and don't cause side effects.

Is there a natural form of paracetamol, like there is for aspirin? Willow bark has been used for hundreds of years for pain relief, it contains the pain killing chemical that pharmacists use to make aspirin.

There are records going back centuries for the use of opiates, such as poppy and wild lettuce juice. THere are things like Devils claw that seem to have the same properties as ibuprofen.

If the active chemical in paracetamol is found widely around the world in plants, then it could be that theres a causal link to past and previous use, or it could be that the seperation of the active pain relieving chemical has left behind those that support it and don't cause side effects.

TheCatWoman said:

What plants contain paracetamol?

I mis-quoted that when I wrote it, sorry. Paracetamol can be synthesized from plants - it is not actually naturally occurring. I can't find the page I read with the original quote.

The resins from pine seem to offer a viable alternative to crude oil.

TheCatWoman said:

autism and other ND's have been around for as long as our species has.

The problem with this statement is that we have no proof.

It is an assumption but not valid enough for science to be able to be able to incorporate in its methodology. It isn't pedantry, it is scientific method - the backbone on which all research is evaluated.

I agree it probably has been about for a very long time but science can only work using facts and these don't exist far enough back.

So that would rather bust up the idea of a link between paracetamol and autism as autism and other ND's have been around for as long as our species has. Unless you wish to go down the scientifically pedantic route and claim that as there were no diagnostic tests we don't know if ND existed or not, but now we have tests and are finding more and more ND's in the general population.

What plants contain paracetamol?

TheCatWoman said:

If the active chemical in paracetamol is found widely around the world in plants,

This is true, but they are formed in minute quantities and are not enough to be harvested in any meaningful way to be use as a drug.

The main way of making it is from crude oil although recent advances in using bacteria (even e-coli!) are looking promising.