Tributes to the late pioneer of orthomolecular psychiatry and medicine

It is with great regret that we have learned of the passing of Dr Abram Hoffer MD, PhD, the Canadian orthomolecular psychiatrist and researcher, and editor of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

He and his co-workers are credited with discoveries about the therapeutic uses of vitamins, which are the roots of orthomolecular psychiatry and medicine as it is known today. They were also the first doctors in North America to conduct double-blind controlled tests in psychiatry, and were later the first to recognise and to publish its many defects and flaws.

Born in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada, his initial interest was in agriculture and biochemistry, leading to a Masters degree in agricultural chemistry in 1940. After completing a PhD in 1944, he became interested in human nutrition, earning his MD in 1949. He qualified in psychiatry in 1954 and became a Fellow in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Canada). Through his position as Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychiatric Research, he was then able to begin his psychiatric research.

Dr Hoffer and co-workers were instrumental in the discovery that megadoses of vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid/niacin) were therapeutic for schizophrenia and can be used to lower cholesterol levels..............................
http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/dr-abram-hoffer-md-phd-1917-%E2%80%93-2009