Brian Lee, PhD

Brian Lee, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a Sept. 29 JAMA Q&A article and Sept. 30 in Scientific American, about Lee’s role as senior author on a study that found no increased risk in autism, ADHD, or intellectual disabilities in the children of women who used acetaminophen during pregnancy. Lee was also a guest on the Sept. 29 Public Health On Call podcast to talk about the study. The research was also mentioned in a Sept. 26 Valigia Blu (Italy) story.

Brian Lee, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in many stories nationwide about the debate over whether there is a link between acetaminophen and development of autism. Coverage included Sept. 23 on BBC World Service, La Presse (France) and KOKI (Fox23 Tulsa, OK), Sept. 25 in Rolling Stone, Sept. 22 stories on WMTW (ABC Portland, ME) and KYW-TV CBS3 and in Managed Healthcare Executive, and Sept. 26 in Science Friday. A Sept. 22 Hearst news segment featuring Lee ran on WVTM 13 (NBCBirmingham, AL), among other stations. Lee co-authored a Sept. 24 article in The Conversation about co-authoring a study finding that acetaminophen is not linked to autism. Lee was also quoted in articles on Sept. 25 in SF Gate and Very Well Health about recent Tylenol and autism claims and CBC (Canada) about whether leucovorin is a possible autism treatment.

Brian Lee, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in dozens of stories nationwide about the debate over whether there is a link between acetaminophen and development of autism. Lee is senior author on a notable study in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, on the topic. Stories included the Sept. 23 episodes of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and WHYY’s "Studio 2," and a Scripps News segment that ran on local news affiliates across the country. He was also interviewed in a Sept. 22 NBC News segment that ran on NBC stations nationwide. He was quoted in Sept. 23 stories in TIME magazine, two pieces on NBC’s TODAY, WebMD, The Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), and a KFF Health News piece that was republished by CBS News, ABC News, MedPage Today and other outlets. On Sept. 23 he was also quoted in New York Times, Washington Post, Healio, Patch, Politifact, Factcheck.org, The Independent (UK), Arizona Republic, Chemical & Engineering News, The Transmitter, Deseret News (Salt Lake City), NPR Shots, STAT news and CBC (Canada) stories and news segments on WCAU (NBC-10), KSTU-TV (Fox-Salt Lake City), KSHB-TV (NBC-Kansas City, Missouri) KDFW-TV (Fox-Houston), W Radio (Columbia) and a Sept. 24 StateImpact Oklahoma segment.

Matthew Lerner, PhD, an associate professor and life courses outcomes program leader in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute and Brian Lee, PhD, a professor, both in the Dornsife School of Public Health, were quoted in a Sept. 22 Philadelphia Inquirer article about what the data shows about causes of autism. Lerner was also quoted in a Sept. 24 MIT Technology Review article about whether leucovorin could be a treatment for autism.

Children born to mothers who take antiseizure medications to manage seizures and psychiatric conditions during pregnancy may face increased risks of neurodevelopmental conditions, according to new data from researchers at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health.

In the largest study to date on the subject, researchers found no evidence to support a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of autism, ADHD and intellectual disability in children. The findings, using data from a nationwide cohort of over 2.4 million children born in Sweden, including siblings not exposed to the drug before birth, were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from researchers at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health and Karolinska Institutet of Sweden.

Taking a multivitamin during pregnancy was linked to a 30 percent decrease in risk of a child developing autism with an intellectual disorder, according to a new Drexel University study.

Antidepressant use in pregnant women was linked to increased cases of autism in their children, though the trend actually appeared to be relatively small, effecting just 2 percent of children with diagnoses.