The Nation - News from June 17, 1985
Two pediatric and genetic researchers say that many pregnant women who consume aspartame, the popular sugar substitute sold as NutraSweet in soft drinks and 70 other products, may have babies with permanent brain damage. In a contention rejected by officials of G. D. Searle, NutraSweet’s manufacturer, one of the scientists, Dr. Louis Elsas of Emory University in Atlanta, also said he believes that a key aspartame component can cause similar damage to infants if they ingest it within six months after birth. Elsas said the damage may not show up for years.
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