America’s top doctor claims US government scientists don’t know what causes autism because they are afraid of being branded antivaxxers.
Dr Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health, is leading research to pinpoint the cause of autism spectrum disorder, which is soaring in the US.
Autism rates have increased from one in 150 to one per 31 in the past two decades, according to the CDC, but there is some debate as to why.
The consensus is it’s because of improved screening tools and doctor awareness, but Dr Bhattacharya told podcaster Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, what is really needed to find answers is an ‘open-minded deep investigation.’
However, he said there aren’t many scientists in his department willing to probe the cause of autism.
Dr Bhattacharya said: ‘I think the reason we have not had the kind of open-minded deep investigation by science, the scientific community at large, on the etiology [of autism] that the parents deserve, the kids deserve, is because it’s dangerous to ask that question.
‘If you’re a scientist, all of a sudden you’re going to be accused, often incorrectly, of being an antivaxxer, and that’s the end of your scientific career. That kind of suppression of scientific curiosity means that we don’t have an answer to this question [of what causes autism].’
Dr Bhattacharya said vaccines are unlikely to be the cause of autism, and he will investigate ‘many other potential hypotheses for the rise,’ including changes to the gut’s collection of beneficial bacteria.
Dr Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health told podcaster Andrew Huberman that autism research has been held back because scientists fear being wrongly labeled anti-vaccine, risking their careers, which has stalled answers on autism’s causes
The graph above from a Rutgers University study displays autism prevalence per 1,000 eight-year-old children in New Jersey, separated by intellectual ability. It shows that the rate of autism diagnoses without intellectual disabilities (blue line) has increased more sharply over time compared to those with intellectual disabilities (green line)
Dr Bhattacharya said: ‘I think that if you have an honest evaluation, you’re not going to find that the vaccines are the primary cause of the rise in autism.
‘It’s going to be something much more fundamental and complicated.’
But now, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr, who has pushed the debunked link, has tasked the NIH leader to recruit the nation’s best scientists to research potential environmental causes, including pollution and environmental toxins.
Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again Initiative aims to tackle what he calls an ‘epidemic’ of autism, a developmental condition resulting in anything from mild social challenges to severe cases involving nonverbal individuals and significant impairments.
Dr Bhattacharya noted that, historically, questioning any potential link between vaccines and autism has been a death sentence for a person’s scientific career.
Autism and vaccines were first linked in a 1998 study by Dr Andrew Wakefield. In the study, Dr Wakefield concluded a causal link between the measles vaccine (MMR) and autism.
After it was revealed that Wakefield fabricated data to support his claim, performed unnecessary invasive procedures, and had previously filed a patent for a rival measles vaccine from which he gained to profit, his study was retracted and his medical license was revoked.
Last year, scientists uncovered 26 types of gut bacteria linked to autism by comparing children with ASD to their siblings.
Levels of a probiotic called bifidobacterium, which has been linked to severity of autism symptoms, were lower in children with ASD.
ther types, including clostridia and sarcina were higher in those with ASD, which have previously been associated with brain inflammation and behavioral symptoms.
The researchers’ findings suggest that the gut microbiome could play a crucial role in autism and potentially shape its severity.
RFK Jr has also stated environmental ‘toxins’ could be fueling a rise in autism, including exposure to mold, pesticides, food chemicals, and ultrasound scans, though several studies have found no link between exposure to ultrasound waves in the womb and autism.
Recent research has suggested a potential link between environmental pesticides and an increased risk of ASD, particularly in utero and during childhood.
And while the exact link between ASD and food additives and dyes is not completely understood, researchers at the University of Central Florida found that when pregnant women eat a lot of processed foods, levels of a naturally occurring enzyme in the digestive tract spike.
Dr Bhattacharya said vaccines are unlikely to be the cause of autism, and he will investigate ‘ many other potential hypotheses for the rise,’ including changes to the gut’s collection of beneficial bacteria.
Those elevated levels can impact fetal brain development and brain cells’ ability to communicate with other parts of the body.
RFK Jr said in April: ‘This is a preventable disease. We know it’s an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. They can provide a vulnerability, but you need an environmental toxin.’
Dr Bhattacharya has made it clear that, as NIH director, he will not influence the conclusions researchers reach in this initiative.
‘I don’t want the results to be disbelieved because I put my thumb on the scale,’ he said. ‘I eagerly await the results of the unbiased studies.’
He said that by September, the NIH will begin dispersing funding to answer questions about autism’s origins.
Dr Bhattacharya added: ‘You can’t rush science, but I’m hoping within a relatively short period of time, who knows how long exactly, depends on how science works, we’ll have a much better understanding of the [cause] of autism than we had at this current moment.’
