US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Wednesday that the department would move its research to autism towards potential environmental causes, but refused to say exactly what the Trump administration would do if a particular industry or pollutant was held responsible.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has not received medical or research training, declared that autism is a preventable disease, claiming that research into genetic causes is a “dead end” and that he “knows that it is an environmental exposure.”

“This hasn’t been done before,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to do it in a thorough and comprehensive way. We’ll get the answers back to the American people very quickly.”

Kennedy said during his first time. Press conference Since he was confirmed by the Senate that he wanted researchers to investigate many potential factors, including mold, food additives, pesticides, air, water, medicines, ultrasound, parental age, obesity in parents, and diabetes in parents.

He said, “We promised to have some answers by September, but added that research would “be an evolving process.”

Kennedy seemed confident in his personal assessment that environmental factors could lead to autism.

“It comes from environmental toxins and someone put the environmental toxins in air, water, medicines and food to make a profit,” Kennedy said. “And it’s their interest to normalize it. “This is all normal. It’s always here.” But it’s not good for our country. ”

However, autism experts questioned Kennedy’s claim that environmental factors lead to autism, and questioned the proposed timeline to prove such a link.

When asked by reporters what exactly the Trump administration would do if the study found conclusive evidence that one particular industry or contaminant is causing autism, Kennedy did not say whether HHS would ban it or close businesses.

“I think we’re trying to find a way to put pressure on us to get rid of it,” he said. “I think there’s also the power of the market to put pressure on it to remove it.”

Difficult research

Catherine Lord, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, said in an interview with the state newsroom following Kennedy’s statement that trying to reach the critical cause of autism before September was a “completely ridiculous” timeline.

The main point is that the most likely hypothesis is that there may be an interaction between genetics, environmental exposure, and even experiences like extreme premature babies.”

However, she noted that the effects of environmental pollutants on people’s health, or complex diagnosis like autism, are challenging, as scientists clearly cannot expose people to toxins.

“It’s very difficult to do that well, and people do it, but they can’t do it right away,” the Lord said. “So we need work in that field and we think it’s funded over the last few years. It’s nothing about shattering the planet, and it’s the same thing.

The master expressed concern about moving funding and research away from genetic factors, saying, “I don’t think it’s an issue because I know autism is genetic.”

“I think genetic research has progressed,” she said. “Again, they’re working on so many different genetic patterns, so that’s a slow pace. But at least I think there’s obvious progress in this science.”

Limit funding for genetic research

Eric Fonbonne, professor emeritus of psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University, said in an interview that it’s not wise for Kennedy to say there are several answers about autism within a few months.

“It’s ridiculous that he’s going to unravel the pathogenesis of autism in six months,” Fondbonne said. “I mean, he could give all the money in the world to labs and people. They couldn’t report the results at least a few years ago.”

The pace of medical research is slow, and Kennedy’s comments states, “We ignore and ignore the science and what we do, how complicated it is, and how long it takes,” says Kennedy.

Leading research funding to potential environmental contributors to autism also limits the amount of funding available for genetic research, according to Fondbonne.

“The pie is limited,” Fonbonne said. “So, moving funding from genetic research to environmental research slows down the pace of genetic research.”

Fombonne explained that genetics and autism studies are “very complicated” and show that not all genetic mechanisms are “the same in different families.”

“So, it’s a very complicated puzzle. And, as you know, the brain is a very hard organ to study. So, understanding the pathophysiology associated with these genetic variants is a very difficult process,” he said. “But we’re doing it and we’re progressing. And this has been very rewarding over the last 20 or 30 years.”

Fombonne will not make the same assessment of potential environmental factors, stating that there are no signs of a high rate of autism in a particular region or period, as scientists have discovered in other conditions.

“There is no evidence of a herd of cases of children living in polluted areas or being exposed to certain environmental conditions,” Fondbonne said. “There is no starting point where we can say that starting environmental studies where we can say it will pay off.

“So, it’s going to be very exploratory at first. That might be a good thing. But at least, let’s do it well. And most of the research we’ve done so far is short.”