The Life and Work of Linus Pauling: Scientist and Activist

"The methods principally used now for treating patients with mental disease are psychotherapy (psychoanalysis and related efforts to provide insight and to decrease environmental stress), chemotherapy (mainly with the use of powerful synthetic drugs, such as chlorpromazine, or powerful natural products from plants, such as reserpine), and convulsive or shock therapy (electroconvulsive therapy, insulin coma therapy, pentylenetetrazol shock therapy). I have reached the conclusion, through arguments summarized in the following paragraphs, that another general method of treatment, which may be called orthomolecular therapy, may be found to be of great value, and may turn out to be the best method of treatment for many patients." Pauling (Science, 1968)

"Vitamin C, ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate or calcium ascorbate, is involved in a great number of biochemical reactions in the human body. Two of its major interactions are in potentiating the immune system and aiding the synthesis of the protein collagen, which is a very important substance that holds together the human body. Collagen strengthens the blood vessels, the skin, the muscles and the bones. You can't make collagen without using up vitamin C." Pauling (1994)

"No prescription drug has ever been shown to help prevent heart disease similar to vitamin A, C and E. Furthermore, all blood risk factors known today in clinical cardiology can be neutralized by vitamin C and other essential nutrients." Dharmabrata Ghosh, Ph.D.

Introduction

Pauling's first venture into the field of medicine was to study sickle cell anemia. He decided that this disease was molecular. There was an abnormal protein in this disease.

Hoffer

Pauling was influenced by the work of Hoffer & Osmond and visa versa.

"Dr. Osmond and Dr. J. Smythies had discovered that the mescaline experience resembled the schizophrenic experience, and he and Smythies postulated that there might be a substance in the body with the properties of mescaline and related to adrenalin." Hoffer

Ref. 1 was Pauling's most famous paper on psychiatry. He was influenced by reading work by Hoffer & Osmond (4). Later on Hoffer became influenced by Pauling's work (2, 3).

"The psychiatric establishment was violently opposed to our work, which did not have the support of the drug companies who were promoting their own products, the tranquilizers. Not a single attempt was made to repeat our double blind controlled studies (five), nor to examine our claims clinically." Hoffer

Other Work on Psychiatry

Although Pauling favored a disturbance in vitamins in mental illness, other work has supported abnormal tryptophan metabolism (5). Although tryptophan is a natural substance found in the diet, it is an amino acid, not a vitamin. Nevertheless, Pauling was close. The drug companies have postulated a deficiency of serotonin. Such a deficiency has not been measured, however. It is favored by those drug companies that make SSRI drugs.

Orthomolecular Medicine

Some of Pauling's work is posted on Ref. 6, which is a website. Orthomolecular medicine is an alternative to drugs. Information on drugs is given in Ref. 7. Towards the end of Pauling's illustrious career, he worked with Dr. Rath at the Linus pauling Institute. They both researched cardiovascular disease, which they thought could be fought with large doses of vitamin C and the amino acid lysine, which is high in corn.

Conclusions

Orthodox medicine has had a lot of problems.

"Cyclic antidepressants are contraindicated during recovery from myocardial infarction, in heart disease when there is severe impairment of myocardial performance, in seizure disorders, and in the presence of glaucoma or a large prostate."

Williams GO. (8)

Department of Family Practice, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

The side effects of psychiatric drugs are horror stories. For this reason alone I favor Linus Pauling's approach. Drugs in general can have very bad side effects including ocular ones such as glaucoma (9). An example of this is Seroquel causing glaucoma (9). Pauling's view of using natural body substances makes a lot of sense.

"Many systemic drugs may produce ocular toxicity, including bisphosphonates, topiramate, vigabatrin, isotretinoin and other retinoids, amiodarone, ethambutol, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, tamoxifen, quetiapine, cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors, erectile dysfunction agents and some herbal medications." Santaella RM, Fraunfelder FW (9)

Quetiapine is the generic name for what is called Seroquel by one drug manufacturer.

References

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

2. Pauling L: The Puzzle of Human Cardiovascular Disease. J Orthomol Med, 1991; 6; 125-134.

3. Pauling L, Rath, M: A Unified Theory of Human Cardiovascular Disease Leading the Way to the Abolition of This Disease as a Cause for Human Mortality. J Orthomol Med, 1992: 7; 5-15.

4. A. Hoffer and H. Osmond, The Chemical Basis of Clinical Psychiatry, (Thomas, Springfield, Ill., 1960).

5. Barry S, Clarke G, Scully P, Dinan TG. Kynurenine pathway in psychosis: evidence of increased tryptophan degradation. J. Psychopharmacol. 2008 Jun 18; Epub ahead of print.

6. http://www.orthomed.org.

7. www.WorstPills.org

8. Prim Care. 1989 Jun;16(2):451-74. Management of depression in the elderly. Williams GO.

9. Drugs. 2007;67(1):75-93. Ocular adverse effects associated with systemic medications : recognition and management. Santaella RM, Fraunfelder FW.