Abram Hoffer (November 11, 1917 – May 27, 2009) was a Canadian

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, physician, and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

known for his "adrenochrome hypothesis" of schizoaffective disorders. According to Hoffer, megavitamin therapy and other

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

al interventions are potentially effective treatments for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. Hoffer was also involved in studies of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

as an experimental therapy for alcoholism and the discovery that high-dose niacin can be used to treat high cholesterol and other

dyslipidemia Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high or low amounts of any or all lipids (e.g. fats, triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids) or lipoproteins in the blood. Dyslipidemia is a risk factor for the development of ...

Biography

Hoffer was born in the small Jewish settlement of Sonnenfeld in southern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada, in 1917, the last of four children and the son of Israel Hoffer.

Dyck Dyck is a form of the Dutch surname (van) Dijck, which is also common among Russian Mennonites. Notable surnames * Aganetha Dyck (born 1937), Canadian artist * Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), Flemish artist * Arnold Dyck (1889-1970), Canadian ...

, 2008, p
26
Originally interested in agriculture, Hoffer earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural chemistry embraces the structures and chemical reactions relevant in the production, protection, and use of Crop, ...

from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. He then took up a scholarship for a year of post-graduate work with the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, followed by work developing

assay An assay is an investigative (analytic) procedure in laboratory medicine, mining, pharmacology, environmental biology and molecular biology for qualitatively assessing or quantitatively measuring the presence, amount, or functional activity ...

s for niacin levels at a

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

products laboratory in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Hoffer earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in biochemistry in 1944, part of which involved the study of vitamins (particularly

B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in Cell (biology), cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referr ...

and their effect on the body) and with an interest in

went on to study medicine at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in 1945. After two years of clinical work at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, Hoffer earned his MD in 1949. Though originally intending to be a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

, during his studies Hoffer developed an interest in

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

. He married Rose Miller in 1942, and his son Bill Hoffer was born in 1944 followed by two more children, John and Miriam, in 1947 and 1949. Hoffer was hired by the Saskatchewan Department of Public Health in 1950 to establish a provincial research program in psychiatry, and joined the Regina Psychiatric Services Branch, Department of Public Health in 1951. He remained the Director of Psychiatric Research until entering private practice in 1967. Critical of psychiatry for its emphasis on psychosomatic

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

and for what he considered a lack of adequate definition and measurement, Hoffer felt that

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and human physiology may be used instead. He hypothesised that people with schizophrenia may lack the ability to remove the hallucinogenic catecholamine metabolite adrenochrome from their brains. Hoffer thought niacin could be used as a

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...

acceptor to prevent the conversion of noradrenaline into adrenaline and that Vitamin C could be used to prevent the oxidation of Adrenaline to Adrenochrome. Hoffer called his theory the "adrenochrome hypothesis". In 1967, Hoffer resigned some of his academic and administrative positions, entered into private psychiatric practice in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and created the ''Journal of Schizophrenia'' (renamed the '' Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine'' in 1986). Hoffer used the journal to publish articles on what he called "nutritional psychiatry", later orthomolecular psychiatry, claiming his ideas were consistently rejected by mainstream journals because they were unacceptable to the medical establishment. In 1976, Hoffer relocated to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

and continued with his private psychiatric practice until his retirement in 2005. In 1994, Hoffer founded the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine, holding its inaugural in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in April of the same year. Hoffer continued to provide nutritional consultations and served as editor of the ''Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine''. He was also President of the Orthomolecular Vitamin Information Centre in Victoria, BC. Hoffer died at the age of 91 on May 27, 2009, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His remains were buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Victoria.

Research

Working in Saskatchewan with Humphry Osmond (who coined the term " psychedelic"), Hoffer and other scientists sought to find medicinal uses for

hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

ic drugs. Part of the research involved Hoffer, Osmond and their wives consuming LSD in an effort to become better acquainted with, and better understand its effects, later joined by other experimenters and their wives.

, 2008, p
37
Their work began attracting notoriety within professional, provincial and federal and political circles, and they were courted by the emerging movement to restrict

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. ...

as well as Native American groups that used the substance in religious ceremonies.

, 2008, p
84-5
Hoffer, Osmond and others treated alcoholics with

. Canadian scientists reported a fifty percent success rate in one study, although Hoffer speculated that it was more likely the psychedelic experience of LSD, rather than simulated ''

delirium tremens Delirium tremens (DTs; ) is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, sh ...

'', that convinced the alcoholics to stop drinking. While working at the Regina General Hospital in the 1950s, Hoffer and James Stephen examined the effects of large doses of niacin on various diseases, including

; Hoffer theorized that adrenalin, when oxidized to adrenochrome was an

endogenous Endogeny, in biology, refers to the property of originating or developing from within an organism, tissue, or cell. For example, ''endogenous substances'', and ''endogenous processes'' are those that originate within a living system (e.g. an ...

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

that could cause schizophrenia. At the same time, another Canadian working in Saskatoon,

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Rudolf Altschul, was exploring the use of high doses of niacin to lower cholesterol in rabbits and patients with degenerative vascular disease. The three combined their work, and in 1955 produced a paper entitled "Influence of nicotinic acid on serum cholesterol in man." The paper summarized their research showing high-dose niacin significantly lowered cholesterol in both high cholesterol patients as well as low cholesterol control subjects. The results were replicated by researchers at the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

and in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

the following year. High-dose niacin has since become a treatment option for individuals with high blood cholesterol and related blood lipid abnormalities. At such high doses niacin acts like a

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

rather than a

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

and may have

side effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect of the use of a medicinal drug or other treatment, usually adverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal and traditional medicines also have side effects. A drug or procedure usually used ...

of intense flushing of the face and torso and, rarely, liver toxicity. Hoffer continued to promote niacin as a treatment for schizophrenia, though this approach was not accepted by mainstream medicine. Subsequent research suggested that Hoffer's adrenochrome theory had merit as people with schizophrenia have defects in the genes that produce

glutathione S-transferase Glutathione ''S''-transferases (GSTs), previously known as ligandins, are a family of eukaryote, eukaryotic and prokaryote, prokaryotic Biotransformation#Phase II reaction, phase II metabolic isozymes best known for their ability to Catalysis, ...

, which eliminates the byproducts of

catecholamine A catecholamine (; abbreviated CA), most typically a 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine, is a monoamine neurotransmitter, an organic compound that has a catechol (benzene with two hydroxyl side groups next to each other) and a side-chain amine. Cate ...

s from the brain. Though Hoffer and Osmond reported nicotinic acid could help with the treatment of schizophrenia, others reported that they could not replicate these results. Despite the apparent face validity of Hoffer's "transmethylation hypothesis" (in which it was thought that the production of

s could sometimes go awry and produce a hallucinogenic neurotoxin), it was ultimately rejected for two reasons: the alleged neurotoxins were never identified and the cause of schizophrenia became attributed to dysfunctions in

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a Chemical synapse, synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neurotra ...

Controversy

Hoffer's claims regarding schizophrenia and his theories of holistic orthomolecular medicine have been criticized by the mainstream of psychiatry. In 1973, the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 39,200 members who are in ...

reported methodological flaws in Hoffer's work on niacin as a schizophrenia treatment and referred to follow-up studies that did not confirm any benefits of the treatment, prompting at least two responses. Multiple additional studies in the United States, Canada, and Australia similarly failed to find benefits of megavitamin therapy to treat

. The term "orthomolecular" was labeled a misnomer as early as 1973. Psychiatrist and critic of psychiatry

Thomas Szasz Thomas Stephen Szasz ( ; ; 15 April 1920 – 8 September 2012) was a Hungarian-American academic and psychiatrist. He served for most of his career as professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. A dis ...

, author of '' The Myth of Mental Illness'' (1961), believed Hoffer's view of

as a physical disease treatable with vitamins and self-help therapy to be "pure quackery".

Publications

* ''Chemical Basis of Clinical Psychiatry'', with Humphry Osmond. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1960. . * ''Niacin Therapy in Psychiatry''. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1962. . * ''How to Live With Schizophrenia''. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1966. * ''New Hope for Alcoholics''. Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1966. * * ''Hoffer-Osmond Diagnostic Test'', with Humphry Osmond and Kelm H. Tuscaloosa, AL: Behavior Science Press, 1975.
''Megavitamin Therapy: In Reply to the American Psychiatric Association Task Force Report on Megavitamins and Orthomolecular Psychiatry''.
Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation, 1976.Lipton, Morris, et al
''Megavitamin and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry: A Report of the APA Task Force on Vitamin Therapy in Psychiatry.''
Washington, D.C.:

, 1973. *''Nutrients to Age Without Senility'', with Morton Walker and Roger J. Williams. Keats Pub, Inc., 1980. . *''Orthomolecular medicine for physicians''. McGraw-Hill Trade, 1989. . *''How to Live with Schizophrenia.'' Carol Publishing Group, 1992. . *''Hoffer's Laws of Natural Nutrition: A Guide to Eating Well for Pure Health.'' Quarry Press, 1996. . *''Vitamin B-3 and Schizophrenia: Discovery, Recovery, Controversy.'' Quarry Press, 1996. . * *''Orthomolecular Treatment for Schizophrenia,'' McGraw-Hill Education, 1999. . *''Dr. Hoffer's ABC of Natural Nutrition for Children: With Learning Disabilities, Behavioral Disorders, and Mental State Dysfunctions,'' Quarry Press, 1999. . * ''Healing Cancer: Complementary Vitamin & Drug Treatments''. CCNM Press, 2004. . *''User's Guide to Natural Therapies for Cancer Prevention & Control: Learn How Diet and Supplements Can Help Prevent and Treat Cancer.'' Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2004. . *''Naturopathic Nutrition'', with Jonathan Prousky. Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine Press, 2006. . *''Feel Better, Live Longer with Vitamin B-3: Nutrient Deficiency and Dependency'', with Harold D. Foster. CCNM Press, 2007. . * ''Orthomolecular Medicine For Everyone,'' with Andrew W. Saul''.'' Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health, 2008. . *''The Vitamin Cure for Alcoholism: Orthomolecular Treatment of Addictions''. Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2009. . *''Psychiatry Yesterday (1950) and Today (2007): From Despair to Hope with Orthomolecular Psychiatry.'' Trafford Publishing, 2009. . *''Hospitals and Health: Your Orthomolecular Guide to a Shorter, Safer Hospital Stay'', with Andrew W. Saul and Steve Hickey. Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2010. . *''Healing Schizophrenia: Complementary Vitamin & Drug Treatments (Naturopathic Healing Series, Professional Edition).'' CCNM Press, 2011. . *''Niacin: The Real Story: Learn about the Wonderful Healing Properties of Niacin,'' with Andrew W. Saul and Harold D. Foster''.'' Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2015. . *''Healing Children's Attention and Behavior Disorders: Complementary Nutritional & Psychological Treatments.'' CCNM Press, 2015. .

Footnotes

References

External links

Hoffer's Home Page (archived)Hoffer's publications
at

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffer, Abram 1917 births 2009 deaths Alternative cancer treatment advocates Jewish Canadian scientists Canadian psychiatrists Orthomolecular medicine advocates University of Minnesota alumni University of Toronto alumni Pseudoscientific diet advocates Canadian psychedelic drug advocates Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan Scientists from Saskatchewan Psychedelic drug researchers Schizophrenia researchers