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The making of a medicinal scapegoat

September 25, 2025
September 25, 2025
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Morning Rounds Writer and Reporter
Good morning. We've got some more great reporting on Trump's autism announcement today, including a story on the long history of Tylenol and another on how autistic mothers are reacting. But if you need a reminder on the basics, look no further than this great explainer video from STAT's Alex Hogan. Alex talks to the STAT reporters who have been following this story since long before Monday's press conference.
exclusive

Finally, a front-runner to lead NIH's largest institute

The National Cancer Institute is the largest institute or center at the National Institutes of Health and the only institute where the director is appointed by the president. There hasn't been an NCI director since Kimryn Rathmell resigned from the office on Jan. 20. Throughout the upheaval of Trump's first year, cancer researchers and advocates told STAT they've felt particularly vulnerable without an NCI director to stand up for the community. Now, it sounds like President Trump might be close to choosing a new head.

Word about the current front-runner has spread rapidly through the cancer research community. Scientists who spoke with STAT expressed relief that the person, who they described as both kind and an excellent, highly qualified scientist and physician, would likely lead the nation's most important cancer research office. Sorry to do this, but read more from STAT's Matthew Herper and Angus Chen for the name and what else folks said.

cardiovascular disease

Population growth + aging + risk factors = more CVD

You have to read deep into a 78-page report to find any good news about cardiovascular diseases and the 1 in 3 deaths they cause around the world. A growing and aging population exposed to greater obesity and diabetes led to a jump in deaths, from 13.1 million in 1990 to 19.2 million deaths in 2023. The death rates for men were higher than for women though after age 50, deaths spiked for all. High blood pressure was the leading cause of death and high BMI and fasting plasma glucose were the fastest-growing metabolic contributors, said the Global Burden of Disease Study special report published yesterday in JACC.

The somewhat bright spot? Less exposure to tobacco and air pollution, specifically household air pollution, slowed some of the growing toll of cardiovascular disease. Tobacco and air pollution aren't off the hook, just moderating their effects with variation depending on where you live. Oceania felt the highest rates of air pollution, despite global declines in exposure. And lead exposure is still a major threat in parts of Central Asia and North Africa. — Elizabeth Cooney

science

The many lives of acetaminophen

It may be surprising to some that a product as widely used as Tylenol could become a medicinal scapegoat. President Trump's statements at an extraordinary press conference Monday have drawn a flood of pushback from medical societies, autism organizations, and pediatric experts. But in truth, acetaminophen has a long and twisting origin story, as STAT's Megan Molteni reports. 

In the U.S., the drug was approved in 1955, before the implementation of modern regulatory standards. After just one randomized study of 100 children treated at an outpatient center in Texas, so-called Tylenol Elixir, a liquid for children, hit the shelves. It took more than ten years for the first reports to start coming in from the U.K. about how deadly the drug could be at high doses. But the history of the drug stretches back even further — all the way to 16th-century Peru, where indigenous people calmed fevers by mixing the bark of the Cinchona tree with water.

Read more from Megan to learn the drug's complicated history, and how that has, at times, fueled fear, anxiety, and conspiratorial thinking. 

community

Autistic moms respond to Trump's agenda

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Adobe

While scientists and the autism community eventually moved on from the myth that emotionally distant "refrigerator mothers" led to autistic children, many people see the way that Trump and his officials have spoken about the condition this week as shaming parents for factors outside of their control — not to mention a significant mischaracterization of autistic people. 

STAT's O. Rose Broderick spoke with autistic mothers about how they felt watching Monday's press conference. "This is kind of stupid," said one mom, who is autistic herself and recently gave birth to her fourth child. "Even if it was accurate, there are bigger dangers than being autistic." Read more in Rose's great story. She spoke to a lot of people with a lot of smart things to say, including Jessica Cook, the on-camera autism expert in Netflix's series Love on the Spectrum.

infectious diseas

The global push for a cheap, generic version of a new HIV prevention drug

An injectable Gilead drug sold as Yeztugo has been hailed as a tool that could bring the 45-year-old global HIV pandemic to heel. Study data shows a single set of injections every six months can provide virtually complete protection against infection. But how to make sure everyone who needs the drug can actually access it has been a controversial public health challenge. 

Until now, perhaps. Several prominent global health organizations will provide backing for two generic manufacturers to produce and distribute a low-cost version of the drug in dozens of poor countries. The arrangements call for two of the largest purveyors of generic medicines to make versions of the drug available at $40 per person a year in 120 low- and middle-income countries starting in early 2027. Read more from STAT's Ed Silverman.

one big number

18.6 million

That's how many people are expected to die from cancer worldwide in 2050 (in, not by) according to new data analysis published yesterday in The Lancet. That would be an almost 75% increase from last year. From 1990 to 2023, the number of new cancer cases doubled globally, while deaths increased 74%. The estimated increases in new cases (30.5 million in 2050, per the analysis) and deaths would be driven mainly by population growth and aging populations, the study authors write. 

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What we're reading

  • Frankenstein's sheep, Intelligencer

  • First Opinion: A $100,000 fee for H-1B visas will devastate U.S. health care, STAT
  • The billionaire, the psychedelics, and the best-selling memoir, New York Times
  • How President Trump's remarks about autism hurt autistic people like me, STAT

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