The Journal of Orthomolecular (Megavitamin) Medicine

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The Journal of Orthomolecular ( " Megavitamin " ) Medicine

 

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

and its Development 1967-1996

Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD

 

In 1967, shortly after the formation of the Canadian

Schizophrenia Foundation, and in the USA, the American

Schizophrenia Association, we published the first

issue of a journal called the Journal of

Schizophrenia. We had to create our own journals

because it was impossible to obtain entry into the

official journals of psychiatry and medicine. Before

1967 I had not found it difficult to publish reports

in these journals, and by then I had about 150

articles and several books in the establishment press.

The subsequent difficulty, therefore, did not arise

from the quality and style of my writing since it has

probably improved since then.

 

It was pretty obvious to those of us practicing

nutritional psychiatry, later orthomolecular

psychiatry, that it was the content of our material

which was found to be not acceptable. This was proven

by the attempt of the American Psychiatric Association

to censor our work even several years after papers had

been published. Dr. Osmond and I appeared before the

Committee of Ethics of the APA to answer why we were

publicizing a treatment not acceptable to standard

psychiatry called xenobiotic psychiatry by Dr. Bernard

Rimland. One of the assistant editors of the American

Psychiatric Association Journal announced that he

would never allow any article from our group to appear

in his journal. He had been the chairman of the task

force which had out of hand condemned any of this

work.

 

This new journal was to become the forum available to

practitioners of the new psychiatry which official

psychiatry found so unacceptable. The peer reviewed

journals did their job very effectively, ie. they

prevented any of these new ideas from appearing in

their journals. Even today the Medical Index will not

abstract our journals using the excuse that they do

not have enough money. Peer reviewed journals do not

protect the public from research reports of inferior

quality, nor do they protect the public from dangerous

ideas they protect the establishment from ideas that

run counter to their own.

 

After two years we shortened the title to

" Schizophrenia " for three years. In 1972 the title was

changed to the Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry to

reflect the widening use of nutrition in the treatment

of many physical and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Linus

Pauling in 1968 had proposed the term orthomolecular

psychiatry which we recognised as the the correct word

to define the total interest in nutrition, clinical

ecology, and the use of supplements. There were 14

volumes.

 

In 1986 the name was changed to the Journal of

Orthomolecular Medicine, to reflect the growing

interest by physicians in this approach, and the fact

that psychiatrists remained singularly disinterested

in anything having to do with nutrition and

psychiatric disease.

 

THE CONTRIBUTERS

All the pioneers in orthomolecular medicine have

reported their findings in this journal. It thus

represents a unique source for these earlier and

current studies which provide a basis for the

increasing growth of nutritional medicine. These

papers are original contributions with very little

repetition. I can not refer to all of the contributers

but they are listed in the total list of contents.

Each paper is counted once, whether the author was the

sole author or one of the co-authors.

 

Dr. E. Braverman originally worked closely with Dr.

C.C. Pfeiffer. He has become very productive in

reporting his work. His first paper appeared in 1979

and he has contributed 14 papers.

 

Dr. R. Cathcart has more experience with the use of

high doses of ascorbic acid than any of other single

physician. He developed the test to determine optimum

dosages using the sub-laxative level His first of two

papers appeared in 1980.

 

Dr. E. Cheraskin first appeared in 1972, contributing

26 excellent reports to date. His papers, usually

brief, are models of scientific clarity and

productivity. His surveys of the ascorbic acid

literature are most valuable.

 

Dr. Allan Cott first reported in 1967. By 1984 he had

published 12 papers dealing with children, adults,

fasting treatment, the use of pyridoxine and so on.

Allan Cott was one of the original members of the

Commitee on Therapy of the American Schizophrenia

Association. He has a school for severely disturbed

children in Birmingham named after him.

 

Dr. H. Foster presented very valuable studies dealing

with the geographical distribution of disease and its

relationship to mineral and other chemicals in the

soil. His first paper was published in 1988; so far 8

have been published.

 

Dr. R.Glen Green was one of the early general

practitioners to embrace orthomolecular medicine, and

for that he lost his licence to practice in

Saskatchewan. He first published in 1970, producing 10

papers dealing primarily with the treatment of

children he described as subclinical pellagrins.

 

Dr. D.R. Hawkins, founding member of the committee on

therapy of the American Schizophrenia Association,

prepared ten papers between 1968-1989. They were

clinical papers dealing with the treatment of

schizophrenics, and alcoholics, and with the absence

of tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenics treated with

orthomolecular methods.

 

Dr. A. Hoffer. I had an advantage since I submitted my

reports to an editor who could not refuse to accept

them. Between 1966 and today I published 131 reports

including 48 editorials. I tried to cover the whole

field in a systematic manner while maintaining my

interest in schizophrenia, for which this journal had

been fashioned in the first place. I am one of the

founding members of the Huxley institute of biosocial

research and the Canadian Schizophrenia Association.

 

Dr. D. Horrobin published one paper in 1979 descibing

the omega 6 essential fatty acids. He has been the

most influential scientist in promoting these

essential fatty acids into the field of medicine and

psychiatry.

 

Dr. H. Huggins published one paper in 1982 which

opened up the very important question of mercury

toxicity from silver amalgams. Since then ten reports

have been published. Only now is there a flicker of

interest in the orthodox medical journals.

 

F. H. Kahan was the capable managing editor of the

Journal for many years, and contributed four excellent

detailed reports on the relationship between the law

and criminal behaviour in schizophrenic patients in

1972-1973. She contributed four more briefer articles

before she died in 1979.

 

Dr. R. Kunin presented his first paper in 1976. he had

four additional articles published, including a good

one of the principles of orthomolecular medicine in

1987.

 

Dr. S. Levine contributed 8 papers between 1983 and

1990 dealing with free radical theory and the use of

antioxidants. This has since become a hot topic in the

field of medicine.

 

Dr. A. E. Libby contributed 6 reports dealing with the

use of orthomolecular treatment for alcoholics and

addicts, along with papers on the chemistry of

behaviour between 1977 to 1982.

 

Dr. M. Marlow gave us 8 reports between 1983 and 1992.

These dealt with the connection between nutrition and

behaviour particularly the trace elements using hair

analysis as a way of determining the concentration of

these minerals.

 

Dr. H. Osmond as co-editor of this journal has the

same advantage I have in writing his material

published here. He is a superb reporter and writer, as

well as a clinician and scientist, and his articles

would grace any medical journal. His first paper

appeared in 1967, the most recent in 1990. He

presented 39 papers including 4 editorials. Humphry is

the other founding member of the American

Schizophrenia Association, The Huxley Institute of

Biosocial Research and the Canadian Schizophrenia

Foundation.

 

Dr. Linus Pauling in 1968 in his famous paper in

Science formulated the term " orthomolecular " and

provided a rational basis for the use of optimum, even

if large, doses of nutrients. His theory explained how

evolution was shaped by the loss of the chemical

machinery required to make essential nutrients. His

first paper appeared in 1970, his last one in 1992. He

contributed 9 reports. I was co-author with him for

the two vitamin C / cancer reports. Until his death in

1994, Dr. Pauling contributed perhaps his his most

important clinical contribution, the work showing the

important relationship between vitamin C levels and

cardiovascular disease. If everyone were to take

optimum amounts of this vitamin, many of the world's

major diseases would vanish. The National Acadamy of

Sciences refused to accept Dr. Pauling's valuable

reports.

 

Dr. C.C. Pfeiffer made his first contribution in 1974,

contributing 22 papers by the time he died in 1988. He

made major contributions to the understanding of trace

element and mineral metabolism in the schizophrenias;

made a rational division of the schizophrenias into

three biochemical groups, and discussed amino acids in

medicine. His contributions were of the greatest

value. Carl Pfeiffer was one of the original members

of the Committee on Therapy of the American

Schizophrenia Association.

 

Dr. W.H. Philpott first reported in 1973 and

contributed 17 papers by 1991. His main contribution

was the introduction of ecological concepts into

orthomolecular psychiatry following Dr. M. Mandell

with whom he co-authored one report. Since then, the

role played by allergies in causing psychiatric

disease has become well established.

 

Dr. M. Rath is a co-author with Linus Pauling on six

important papers om vitamin C and cardiovascular

disease, beginning in 1991. He has also recently

published four papers as the sole author.

 

Dr. C. Reading wrote four papers between 1979 and

1988. His work dealt with the use of family studies in

determining the best treatment for patients using the

orthomolecular approach. The psychiatrists in

Australia and New Zealand have been trying to supress

his work and practice for many years.

 

Dr. Bernard Rimland was a member of the first

Committee on Therapy of the American Schizophrenia

Foundation, and has been a powerful supporter of

orthomolecular medicine and psychiatry. He is founder

of the American Autism Society and directs the Autism

Research Institute in San Diego, California. He is one

of formost workers in the field. He published three

papers between 1971 and 1984.

 

Dr. H Riordan had three papers in our journal

beginning in 1987. he is now a regular contributer and

presents individual case histories and reports several

times each year.

 

Dr. H. Ross is one of the early pioneer psychiatrists

of orthomolecular psychiatry. His first paper appeared

in 1974 and the last of four appeared in 1990. his

main field of interest is the use nutrition and

supplements in the treatment of depression.

 

(Reprinted with permission.)