Professors K-P Chua and R. M. Conti published “Leucovorin Dispensing to U.S. Children in 2025” in the correspondence section of the New England Journal of Medicine 12 August 2026. They presented data from IQVIA (an independent health research firm) showing that the number of children for whom leucovorin was prescribed increased during 2025, particularly in the last months of the year.
Previous research had indicated that Leucovorin was prescribed much more often I after a press conference by the US Department of Health and Human Services (see Special Education Today for a story on 23 September 2025 about the press conference and another on 10 March 2026 about the earlier research). The researchers examined the data prior to and after the press conference. As Professor Chua and Conti wrote, “During the study period, the leucovorin dispensing rate rose from 1.0 per 100,000 children to 8.0 per 100,000 children (a 700% increase), owing both to an increase before the press release [of 22 September 2025 from the US Department of Health and Human Service]and to a sharp increase afterward.
This research does not conclusively show that the press conference caused the uptick in the use of leucovorin. This is essentially a pre-post case study, However, the data show clear changes in dispensing of the drug that correspond with the press conference.
The serious medical community has repeatedly argued that Leucovorin has no apparent benefits for children with autism. See:
Reference
Chua, K. P., He, S., & Conti, R. M. (2026). Leucovorin Dispensing to U.S. Children in 2025. The New England journal of medicine, 395(7), 719–721. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2602260