Giants of Psychiatry: Dr. Abram Hoffer (1917-2009)

"I have lived a full, interesting and creative life supported by my family and many friends and irritated and spurred on by the hostile criticisms of a group of psychiatrists representing APA and NIMH." Dr. Abram Hoffer

Introduction

"Our first patient Ken was a catatonic schizophrenic in the mental hospital run by Dr Osmond. He had had insulin coma and also ECT and had been left in a coma and was dying." Hoffer

Hoffer claimed that he and Osmond cured Ken with massive doses of certain water-soluble vitamins including niacin. Hoffer was born in Canada. Osmond was born in the UK.

Osmond & Smythies wrote an important paper on schizophrenia supporting the autointoxication theory in 1952 (1). According to this theory a mescaline-like substance made in the brain causes schizophrenia. This idea was not completely new because Stockings had proposed a similar theory in the Journal of Mental Science in 1940. However, Osmond & Smythies suggested that the substance was DMPEA. DMPEA had been shown to cause catatonia in animals. DMPEA has a structure similar to that of mescaline.

Hoffer and Osmond started to write a long series of papers together (2-4). Soon they wrote books together.

Osmond 1917-2004

Osmond invented the word "psychedelic". Refs. 5 & 6 are more writings by Osmond. After working with Hoffer for decades, Osmond moved to the US. Osmond favored the medical model in psychiatry (7). Towards the end he worked with Siegler (8).

Pauling

Hoffer began to work with Pauling, who had similar views. In 1968 Pauling wrote a brilliant paper in which he coined the term "orthomolecular" (9). His views had been influenced by previous work by Hoffer, Osmond, Folling, and others. Folling discovered PKU, which was a form of mental illness that was an inborn error of metabolism. It is treatable by diet. The diet is low in the amino acid phenylalanine.

Pauling was also interested in known physical diseases (10). Hoffer and Osmond both contributed to Pauling's book on psychiatry (11). This book caused a storm of controversy. It was one of the best books I have ever seen on psychiatry.

Saul

With the death of Pauling in 1994, Hoffer worked with Saul, who was another medical maverick. Saul was a follower of Pauling. Saul is not a psychiatrist. He is interested in a wide variety of diseases, much like Pauling. There is substantial evidence that these scientists were right (12).

Dr. Saul runs the OMNS (Orthomolecular News Service) and maintains the website www.orthomolecular.org, which is outstanding.

Hoffer's Publications

This is a very abbreviated list since he had more that 600 publications. He died with some unpublished rough drafts of books. Hopefully these will be published posthumously. Refs. 13-17 are typical of Hoffer's publications.

Conclusions

Hoffer was a very prolific writer. This was also true of Osmond and Pauling. Saul, the only one still alive, continues to be a very prolific writer. In the future I could do a biography of Dr. Saul. More information is available on both Gather and Associated Content.

Hoffer was criticized by both the APA (American Psychiatric Association) and NIMH. However, this was done at a time in which the APA was giving people brain damage in the form of tardive dyskinesia. Hoffer blasted them for harming patients with drugs.

References

1. Osmond, H & Smythies, J (1952) Schizophrenia: a new approach. Journal of Mental Science. 98(411):309-315, April.

2. Hoffer A, Osmond H & Smythies J (1954) Schizophrenia: a new approach. II. Results of a year's research. J Ment Science 100(418):29-45.

3. Clancy J, Hoffer A, Lucy J, Osmond H, Smythies J & Stefaniak B (1954) Design and planning in psychiatric research as illustrated by the Weyburn Chronic Nucleotide Project. Bull Men Clinic, 18: 147-153.

4. Hoffer A & Osmond H (1955) Schizophrenia - an autonomic disease. Presented to Soc Biol Psychiatry, Chicago, June. J Nerv & Ment Dis 122: 448-452.

5.Hoffer A, Osmond H, Callbeck MJ & Kahan I (1957) Treatment of schizophrenia with nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. J Clin Exper Psychopathol 18: 131-158.

6. Osmond H. (1957) A review of the clinical effects of psychotomimetic Agents. Ann N.Y. Acad Sci, 66:418-434. March 14.

7. Osmond H (1970) The medical model in psychiatry. Hosp Community Psychiatry. Sep;21(9):275-81.

8. Siegler, M & Osmond H (1981) How to Cope with Illness. New York: Collier Books. Previously published as: Patienthood. LOC Control Number: 81003910.

9. Pauling, L.: Orthomolecular psychiatry. Science 160: 265-271, 1968.

10. Pauling, L: Vitamin C and the Common Cold. San Francisco. W.H. Freeman and Co. 1970.

11. Hawkins, D., Pauling, L (eds): Orthomolecular Psychiatry; Treatment of Schizophrenia. San Francisco, W.H. Freeman and Co., 1973.

12. Edwin, I., Holten, K., Norum, K.R., et al: Vitamin B12 hypovitaminosis in mental diseases. Acta Med Scand 177:689-699, 1965.

13. Hoffer A. Treatment of hyperkinetic children with nicotinamide and pyridoxine. Can Med Assoc J 107:111-112, 1972.

14. Hoffer A. Orthomolecular treatment for schizophrenia. J Practical Nursing 22:16-19 and 20-22, 1972.

15. Hoffer A. Senility is a form of chronic malnutrition. Report of a National Conference on The Crisis in Health Care For The Aging, sponsored by the Huxley Institute of Biosocial Research, New York , Mar. 6, 1972.

16. Hoffer A. Orthomolecular treatment for schizophrenia. Medical Counterpart 4:10-20, 1973.

17. Hoffer A. Mechanism of action of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide in the treatment of schizophrenia. In, Orthomolecular Psychiatry, Eds. David Hawkins and Linus Pauling. WH Freeman and Co., San Francisco , 1973.