ORTOMOLECULAR

In english, for health professionals interested information on nutrition, medicine, and psychiatry orthomolecular.

En ingles, para profesionales de la salud interesados, información en inglés sobre nutrición, medicina y psiquiatría ortomolecular.

miércoles, febrero 15, 2012

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT

===========================================================================
DIETARY SUPPLEMENT
===========================================================================
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
December 1, 1995
===========================================================================

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT
HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACT OF 1994

For decades, the Food and Drug Administration regulated dietary supplements as foods, in most circumstances, to ensure that they were safe and wholesome, and that their labeling was truthful and not misleading. An important facet of ensuring safety was FDA's evaluation of the safety of all new ingredients, including those used in dietary supplements, under the 1958 Food Additive Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). However, with passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), Congress amended the FD&C Act to include several provisions that apply only to dietary supplements and dietary ingredients of dietary supplements. As a result of these provisions, dietary ingredients used in dietary supplements are no longer subject to the premarket safety evaluations required of other new food ingredients or for new uses of old food ingredients. They must, however, meet the requirements of other safety provisions. Signed by President Clinton on October 25, 1994, the DSHEA acknowledges that millions of consumers believe dietary supplements may help to augment daily diets and provide health benefits. Congress's intent in enacting the DSHEA was to meet the concerns of consumers and manufacturers to help ensure that safe and appropriately labeled products remain available to those who want to use them. In the findings associated with the DSHEA, Congress stated that there may be a positive relationship between sound dietary practice and good health, and that, although further scientific research is needed, there may be a connection between dietary supplement use, reduced health-care expenses, and disease prevention. The provisions of DSHEA define dietary supplements and dietary ingredients; establish a new framework for assuring safety; outline guidelines for literature displayed where supplements are sold; provide for use of claims and nutritional support statements; require ingredient and nutrition labeling; and grant FDA the authority to establish good manufacturing practice (GMP) regulations. The law also requires formation of an executive level Commission on Dietary Supplement Labels and an Office of Dietary Supplements within the National Institutes of Health. These specific provisions of the DSHEA are synopsized below.

DEFINITION OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENT

FDA traditionally considered dietary supplements to be composed only of essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 added "herbs, or similar nutritional substances," to the term "dietary supplement." Through the DSHEA, Congress expanded the meaning of the term "dietary supplements" beyond essential nutrients to include such substances as ginseng, garlic, fish oils, psyllium, enzymes, glandulars, and mixtures of these. The DSHEA established a formal definition of "dietary supplement" using several criteria. A dietary supplement:
  • is a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combinations of these ingredients.
  • is intended for ingestion in pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid form.
  • is not represented for use as a conventional food or as the sole item of a meal or diet.
  • is labeled as a "dietary supplement."
  • includes products such as an approved new drug, certified antibiotic, or licensed biologic that was marketed as a dietary supplement or food before approval, certification, or license (unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services waives this provision).

SAFETY

The DSHEA amends the adulteration provisions of the FD&C Act. Under DSHEA a dietary supplement is adulterated if it or one of its ingredients presents "a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury" when used as directed on the label, or under normal conditions of use (if there are no directions). A dietary supplement that contains a new dietary ingredient (i.e., an ingredient not marketed for dietary supplement use in the U.S. prior to October 15, 1994) may be adulterated when there is inadequate information to provide reasonable assurance that the ingredient will not present a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury. The Secretary of HHS may also declare that a dietary supplement or dietary ingredient poses an imminent hazard to public health or safety. However, like any other foods, it is a manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that its products are safe and properly labeled prior to marketing.

LITERATURE

The DSHEA provides that retail outlets may make available "third-party" material s to help inform consumers about any health-related benefits of dietary supplements. These materials include articles, book chapters, scientific abstracts, or other third-party publications. These provisions stipulate that the information must not be false or misleading; cannot promote a specific supplement brand; must be displayed with other similar materials to present a balanced view; must be displayed separate from supplements; and may not have other information attached (product promotional literature, for example).

NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT STATEMENTS

The DSHEA provides for the use of various types of statements on the label of dietary supplements, although claims may not be made about the use of a dietary supplement to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure a specific disease (unless approved under the new drug provisions of the FD&C Act). For example, a product may not carry the claim "cures cancer" or "treats arthritis." Appropriate health claims authorized by FDA--such as the claim linking folic acid and reduce risk of neural tube birth defects and the claim that calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis--may be made in supplement labeling if the product qualifies to bear the claim. Under DSHEA, firms can make statements about classical nutrient deficiency diseases--as long as these statements disclose the prevalence of the disease in the United States. In addition, manufacturers may describe the supplement's effects on "structure or function" of the body or the "well-being" achieved by consuming the dietary ingredient. To use these claims, manufacturers must have substantiation that the statements are truthful and not misleading and the product label must bear the statement "This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." Unlike health claims, nutritional support statements need not be approved by FDA before manufacturers market products bearing the statements, however, the agency must be notified no later than 30 days after a product that bears the claim is first marketed.

INGREDIENT AND NUTRITION INFORMATION LABELING

Like other foods, dietary supplement products must bear ingredient labeling. This information must include the name and quantity of each dietary ingredient or, for proprietary blends, the total quantity of all dietary ingredients (excluding inert ingredients) in the blend. The label must also identify the product as a "dietary supplement" (e.g., "Vitamin C Dietary Supplement"). Labeling of products containing herbal and botanical ingredients must state the part of the plant from which the ingredient is derived. If a supplement is covered by specifications in an official compendium and is represented as conforming, it is misbranded if it does not conform to those specifications. Official compendia include the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States, or the National Formulary. If not covered by a compendium, a dietary supplement must be the product identified on the label and have the strength it is represented as having. Labels also must provide nutrition labeling. This labeling must first list dietary ingredients present in "significant amounts" for which FDA has established daily consumption recommendations, followed by dietary ingredients with no daily intake recommendations. Dietary ingredients that are not present in significant amounts need not be listed. The nutrition labeling must include the quantity per serving for each dietary ingredient (or proprietary blend) and may include the source of a dietary ingredient (for example, "calcium from calcium gluconate"). If an ingredient is listed in the nutrition labeling, it need not appear in the statement of ingredients. Nutrition information must precede ingredient statements on the product label.

NEW DIETARY INGREDIENTS

Supplements may contain new dietary ingredients--those not marketed in the United States before October 15, 1994--only if those ingredients have been present in the food supply as an article used for food in a form in which the food has not been chemically altered or there is a history of use, or some other evidence of safety exists that establishes that there is a reasonable expectation of safety when the product is used according to recommended conditions of use. Supplement manufacturers must notify FDA at least 75 days before marketing products containing new dietary ingredients, providing the agency with the information on which the conclusion that a dietary supplement containing the new dietary ingredient "will reasonably be expected to be safe" was based. Any interested party, including a manufacturer of a dietary supplement, may petition FDA to issue an order prescribing the conditions of use under which a new dietary ingredient will reasonably be expected to be safe.

GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES (GMPs)

DSHEA grants FDA the authority to establish GMP regulations governing the preparation, packing, and holding of dietary supplements under conditions that ensure their safety. These regulations are to be modeled after current good manufacturing practice regulations in effect for the rest of the food industry. FDA intends to work with the supplement industry and other interested persons to develop GMPs and, in doing so, will seek public comment as to their scope.

COMMISSION ON DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

The DSHEA requires the formation of a Commission to conduct a study and make recommendations on the regulation of label claims and statements for dietary supplements and procedures for the evaluation of the claims. The members of the Commission will evaluate how best to provide truthful, scientifically valid, and not misleading information to consumers so that they can make informed and appropriate health care choices. The Commission will be composed of seven members, appointed by the President, with experience in dietary supplements and in the manufacture, regulation, distribution, and use of supplements. Three members must be qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate supplements' health benefits, and one of these must be trained in pharmacognosy, medical botany, traditional herbal medicine, or other related sciences. All Commission members and staff should be unbiased about supplement use. On October 2, 1995, the White House announced the names of the seven individuals the President intends to appoint to the Commission. The members include nutritionists, industry representatives, a pharmacognosist, and attorneys. The Commission will submit a final report including recommendations and legislation related to label claims for dietary supplements to the President and Congress within two years of convening.

OFFICE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

The HHS Secretary will establish an office within the National Institutes of Health to explore the potential role of supplements to improve health care in the U.S. The office will also promote scientific study of supplements and their value in preventing chronic diseases; collect and compile scientific research, including data from foreign sources and the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine; serve as a scientific adviser to HHS and FDA; and compile a database of scientific research on supplements and individual nutrients.

EFFECTIVE DATE

DSHEA's provisions for use of nutritional support statements and third-party literature became effective when the law was signed. The effective date for other labeling provisions and any FDA implementing regulations is after December 31, 1996, although manufacturers may label their products consistent with provisions of DSHEA until that date.

This document was issued on December 1, 1995.
For more recent information on Dietary Supplements
See http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/supplmnt.html


Dietary Supplements

Foods Home   |   FDA Home   |   Search/Subject Index   |   Disclaimers & Privacy Policy
Hypertext updated by kwg/dms 2004-AUG-06

AHANAOA A. C.
Lic. Nut. Miguel Leopoldo Alvarado Saldana
Fundador y presidente.

viernes, mayo 29, 2009

Abraham Hoffer

Abram Hoffer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Abram Hoffer (1917-2009) was a Canadian psychiatrist known for his claims that nutrition and megadoses of vitamins are effective treatments for schizophrenia. This general approach, called orthomolecular medicine by its proponents and questioned by most of the mainstream medical community, includes the use of megavitamins and is commonly called megavitamin therapy.

Contents

[hide]

Bio

Hoffer received a degree in agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan in 1938, followed by a Masters degree in agricultural chemistry in 1940. He received a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1944 with research into vitamin content of cereals. Hoffer graduated with an MD from the University of Toronto in 1949 and completed psychiatric training in 1954.[1]

Hoffer was a faculty member of the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan from 1955–67 and served as the Director of Psychiatric Research for the Saskatchewan Department of Public Health in Regina from 1950–67.[1] He stated that half the patients housed in the mental hospital were diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and that the conditions in the mental hospital and the treatment of these patients were poor, and looked for better answers to treat the mentally ill.[2] Critical of psychiatry for its emphasis on psychosomatic psychoanalysis and for what he considered a lack of adequate definition and measurement, Hoffer felt that biochemistry and human physiology should be used instead. He hypothesised that schizophrenics lack the ability to remove a hallucinogenic metabolite adrenochrome from their brains. He speculated that he could decrease the concentration of adrenochrome in the brain by using vitamin C to reduce adrenochrome to adrenaline and using niacin as a methyl acceptor to prevent the conversion of noradrenaline into adrenaline. Hoffer called his theory the "adrenochrome hypothesis".[3]

By the mid-1960s, according to Hoffer, psychiatry was emphasising the use of neuroleptic drugs. Hoffer claims that he and like-minded researchers, calling themselves "orthomolecularists", were snubbed and became the victims of a conspiracy, with their reports rejected by scientific journals.[4] In 1967, Hoffer resigned his academic and administrative positions, entered into private psychiatric practice in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and created the Journal of Schizophrenia as a means of publishing articles rejected by mainstream journals. After several name changes, the journal was called the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine in 1986.[4] In 1976, Hoffer relocated to Victoria, British Columbia and continued with his private psychiatric practice until his retirement in 2005. Hoffer continues to provide nutritional consultations and to serve as editor of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.[2] He is also President of the Orthomolecular Vitamin Information Centre in Victoria, BC.[5]

Hoffer died May 27, 2009 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.[6]

Research

Working with counterculture icon Humphry Osmond (who coined the term "psychedelic"), Hoffer sought to find medicinal uses for hallucinogenic drugs.[7] Theorizing that alcoholics needed to "hit bottom" before they were willing to stop drinking, Hoffer and Osmond treated alcoholics with LSD. Their stated goal was to simulate delirium tremens (i.e.: hitting bottom). Osmond 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, that convinced the alcoholics to stop drinking.[8]

Incidental to Hoffer's psychiatric work with niacin, he was part of a team that reported an effect of niacin on cholesterol levels.[9]

Observing biochemical abnormalities and serendipitous cancer recoveries among his psychiatric patients, Hoffer worked for several years on the potential anticancer effects of nutrients, particularly the B vitamins, selenium, and ascorbate. He says this included treating hundreds of cancer patients with nutrients, with reported success.[10] Hoffer collaborated with Linus Pauling on several aspects of orthomolecular medicine,[11] co-authoring several books with Pauling.[12][13] These claims are rejected by medicine, with large-scale trials showing little or no effect of vitamins on cancer; large doses of some vitamins are correlated with an increase in the cancers they are claimed to prevent.[14]

Controversy

Hoffer's claims regarding schizophrenia and his theories of orthomolecular medicine have been rejected by the medical community.[15] In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association 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.[16] Later studies similarly failed to find benefits in the use of megavitamin therapy to treat schizophrenia.[17] The term "orthomolecular medicine" was labeled a misnomer as early as 1973[16] and its practices are currently considered inadequate as a treatment for schizophrenia.[18]

Hoffer predicted in the 1950s that it would take at least forty years for his methods to become accepted. In a 2006 interview, Hoffer stated that while he felt that current mainstream psychiatric care was "terrible", his theories and treatments were starting to become more accepted. "[W]e're at a transition point. If I live another four or five years, I'll see it."[2]

Bibliography

Hoffer's publications include:

  1. ^ a b Hoffer, Abram. "Curriculum Vitae". Health World Online. http://www.healthy.net/bios/hoffer/CV.htm. 
  2. ^ a b c Rob Wipond (August 2006). "An interview with Dr. Abram Hoffer". Focus. http://robwipond.com/?p=21. 
  3. ^ Hoffer, Abram. "Vitamins and Minerals Help Fight Off Diseases of The Mind and The Body". Life extension magazine. http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2003/jan2003_report_hoffer_01.html. 
  4. ^ a b Hoffer, Abram. "Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine History". http://www.orthomed.org/jom/jomhist.htm. 
  5. ^ "Self published". Orthomolecular Vitamin Information Centre. http://www.orthomolecularvitamincentre.com/. 
  6. ^ "Controversial Victoria psychiatrist Abram Hoffer dies at age 92". Times Colonist. 2009-05-28. http://www.timescolonist.com/Health/Controversial+Victoria+psychiatrist+Abram+Hoffer+dies/1640012/story.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  7. ^ Eisner, Bruce (February 11, 2004). "Humphrey Osmond Inventor of the Word "Psychedelic" Dies". http://www.bruceeisner.com/new_culture/2004/02/humphrey_osmond.html. 
  8. ^ Hoffer, Abram (1970). "Treatment of alcoholism with psychedelic therapy". http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/hoffer.htm. 
  9. ^ Altschul R; Hoffer A; Stephen JD. (1955). "Influence of nicotinic acid on serum cholesterol in man". Arch Biochem Biophys 54: 558–559. doi:10.1016/0003-9861(55)90070-9. PMID 14350806. 
  10. ^ "Hoffer's Home Page - Orthomolecular Treatment of Cancer.". December 26, 1999. http://www.islandnet.com/~hoffer/. 
  11. ^ "Correspondence, Abram Hoffer". Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers. Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections. http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/catalogue/pauling01_152-162.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-28. 
  12. ^ Hoffer A; Pauling L (2004). Healing Cancer: Complementary Vitamin & Drug Treatments. CCNM Press. ISBN 1-897025-11-4. 
  13. ^ Hoffer A; Pauling L (1999). Vitamin C and Cancer: Discovery, Recovery, Controversy. Kingston, Ontario: Quarry Press. ISBN 1-55082-078-8. 
  14. ^ Satia JA, Littman A, Slatore CG, Galanko JA, White E (2009). "Long-term Use of {beta}-Carotene, Retinol, Lycopene, and Lutein Supplements and Lung Cancer Risk: Results From the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Study". American Journal of Epidemiology. doi:10.1093/aje/kwn409. 
  15. ^ Bartlett, Stephen (2000-07-12). "Orthomolecular Therapy". Quack Watch. http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ortho.html. 
  16. ^ a b Lipton M, et al. (1973). Task Force Report on Megavitamin and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Association. 
  17. ^ Vaughan K; McConaghy N (1999). "Megavitamin and dietary treatment in schizophrenia: a randomised, controlled trial" (abstract). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 33 (1): 84–8. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.1999.00527.x. PMID 10197889. 
  18. ^ Lerner Vladimir, et al. (2005). "The treatment of acute schizophrenia with high dose niacinmide plus ascorbate plus pyridoxine plus Centrum Forte vs. Centrum Forte only as an add-on to risperidone and dietary counseling (2005-2009 trial)". Clinicaltrials.gov. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00140166. 



--
AHANAOA A. C.
Lic. Nut. Miguel Leopoldo Alvarado
http://www.nutriologiaortomolecular.org/
http://www.seattlees.com/

El siguiente es un obituario Abram Hoffer enviado por el hijo de John Hoffer



2006: Dr. Abram Hoffer in his office with portraits of his colleagues including Aldous Huxley,far left, and Linus Pauling
 
 

2006: Dr. Abram Hoffer in his office with portraits of his colleagues including Aldous Huxley,far left, and Linus Pauling

Photograph by: Darren Stone, Times Colonist

The following is an obituary sent by Abram Hoffer's son John Hoffer:

Abram Hoffer died in Victoria on Wednesday, May 27 after a brief illness and a long, healthy, productive and brilliant life.

Born November 11, 1917 on a farm in Hoffer, Saskatchewan, Abram Hoffer attended a one-room schoolhouse and studied on horseback, eventually graduating from the University of Saskatchewan (BSA, MSA), the University of Minnesota (PhD in nutrition) and the University of Toronto (MD). He specialized in psychiatry and was, for many years, director of psychiatric research for the Saskatchewan Department of Public Health and associate professor of medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. In these capacities he carried out groundbreaking research in several areas, ultimately authoring more than 500 peer-reviewed and popular articles and more than 30 academic monographs and popular books.

He challenged the then-dominant view of schizophrenia as a psychological disorder caused by poor mothering, and contributed importantly to the formation of the field of neuropsychopharmacology. He co-authored research on the genetics of schizophrenia with the renowned geneticist, Ernst Mayer. He co-discovered the first effective lipid-lowering agent, the B vitamin niacin. He developed a controversial treatment for acute schizophrenia based on the principles of respect, shelter, sound nutrition, appropriate medication and the administration of large doses of certain water-soluble vitamins, in the process carrying out among the first controlled clinical trials in psychiatry. He advanced a plausible biochemical hypothesis to explain the cause of schizophrenia and how niacin and vitamin C could eliminate its symptoms and prevent relapses. Intrigued by the concept of metabolic "models of madness," he and his research colleagues, notably his close collaborator Humphry Osmond, studied the properties of the hallucinogens and pioneered the use of LSD, which in conjunction with skilled compassionate psychotherapy, was found to be an effective treatment for alcoholism. His work with alcoholism led to a close friendship with Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He organized a self-help organization for people with schizophrenia, Schizophrenics Anonymous. Participants at SA meetings occasionally exchanged the friendly greeting, "Salutations and hallucinations!" His colleague and friend, the American chemist Linus Pauling, championed the biochemical model for treating schizophrenia that was developed in Saskatchewan and provided a conceptual underpinning for the notion that large doses of certain naturally occurring substances can favorably alter disordered brain biochemistry, coining the term "orthomolecular psychiatry."

Abram Hoffer moved to Victoria in 1976 where he practiced psychiatry for many years, becoming a founding member and president of the Senior Physicians Association of British Columbia. Sometimes criticized from afar for his controversial views, he was beloved by his many patients and close colleagues. He devoted his life to the goal of curing – not palliating – schizophrenia. His son Bill died in 1998 and his wife Rose died in 2001. He is survived by his daughter, Miriam (and her husband Guy Ewing), by his son John (and his wife Yehudit Silverman), and by four grandchildren: Adam, Megan, Joshua and Rebecca. At his request, the funeral will be private. We are immensely grateful to the nurses and physicians on West 2 of the Royal Jubilee Hospital. We are indebted to Dr. James Spence for his thoughtful and compassionate attention. Donations can be sent to the International Schizophrenia Foundation, founded by Abram Hoffer.



--
AHANAOA A. C.
Lic. Nut. Miguel Leopoldo Alvarado
http://www.nutriologiaortomolecular.org/
http://www.seattlees.com/

ABRAHAM HOFFER FALLECIÓ EL 27 DE MAYO DEL 2009, DESCANSE EN PAZ.


ABRAHAM HOFFER FALLECIÓ EL 27 DE MAYO DEL 2009, DESCANSE EN PAZ.
Abraham Hoffer fue el creador junto con Linus Pauling, Morton Walker y otros desacatados investigadores la Psiquiatría, la Medicina y la Nutrición Ortomolecular.
Descanse en Paz Abraham Hoffer.
A continuación su biografía en inglés.



A Summary of His Life & Work (pdf format)
A Poetic Limerick from Dr. Riordan
Dr. Hoffer's Books
Dr. Hoffer's Research Papers
Dr. Hoffer's Cancer Website
Dr. Hoffer's Schizophrenia Website


WHO IS ABRAM HOFFER

By Abram Hoffer
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. Since they did not know me personally I never took it personally although I must admit I would have preferred had they been supportive. I give my critics full credit for having delayed the full introduction of orthomolecular medicine into the medical world and for having denied life, health and happiness for innumerable patients. Supporters of old paradigms never realize how much damage they do by their remarkable rigidity and adherence to old theories.
I was born on a farm in Southern Saskatchewan in 1917, completed High School in a rural school, my PhD at University of Minnesota and Medical degree at University of Toronto. By the time I got my first job I was 33 years old, had three children and was totally fed up with being a student. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was to become a psychiatrist, then the lowest branch of medicine. My wife Rose put up with these long student years while she brought up our three children. Bill became one of the world's best antiquarian book experts. He died 6 years ago from lung cancer. John is a Professor of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal a great clinician and researcher into nutrition, and Miriam is dietitian at Women College hospital in Toronto and recently published her very good book Fueling Body, Mind and Spirit. Rose died in August 2001 and since then I am alone but absorbed with my family and my work. I have the support of remarkable friends and scientists and all of us working together will eventually overhaul medicine back to its interest in nutrition and in nutrients.
My work with schizophrenia and later in developing orthomolecular psychiatry depends on a series of events that possibly cannot ever occur again. I began to work for the Government of Saskatchewan in July 1, 1950, to organize a research division in psychiatry. The government was very hopeful that this would help them bring our mental hospital into the twentieth century. Our two mental hospitals were classed in 1954 as among the three worst in the world by Dr. John Weir, Medical Director of the Rockefeller Foundation. My chief was very supportive because he trusted and liked me even though he did not understand much about what we were doing. Dr. Humphry Osmond joined us from England. He was a refugee from the stiff conservative research intellectual attitude of academic psychiatry in England. He and John Smythies had formulated their M hypothesis of schizophrenia which was that it was possible that in the body of these patients there was a chemical with the psychological properties of mescaline and somehow related to adrenaline. Osmond brought this idea to us in Saskatchewan in the fall of 1951, and to me it made a tremendous amount of good sense. It gave us a map to follow in pursuit to the elusive schizophrenic toxin. I was Director of Psychiatric Research and was given full control. I knew no psychiatry, which was a major stroke of luck because I did not know that what we were trying to do was impossible. We had no medical school, another stroke of luck because we had no one who could countermand the direction I wanted to follow. Our team developed the adrenochrome hypothesis, which stated that adrenalin was oxidized to adrenochrome and this caused the disease. It was the first super oxidation hypothesis in medicine and it called for certain biochemical tricks to reverse this oxidation. We developed our research program with the help of the Rockefeller Foundation and showed that adrenochrome is an hallucinogen and showed how it could be made and studied. Later it was found in the body and is today receiving serious consideration as an element in many degenerative diseases of the brain. But we also wanted to treat our patients more effectively. All we had was ECT.
We deduced from our biochemical theories that large doses of vitamin B-3 and vitamin C might be therapeutic. We obtained a large supply of pure crystalline niacin, niacinamide, ascorbic acid and riboflavin. 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. We decided that he must be our first patient to be given niacin and hoped he would not be our first victim. We used a stomach tube and gave him a large dose of niacin and ascorbic acid. He survived. The next day he sat up and drank it and thirty days later he was well. He was discharged and remained well. We were very fortunate. It is essential that the first patient one treats with any new treatment responds and he did. We then knew that we had something but our conviction was not great. After six double blinds, thousands of patients I have treated since then, and dozens of open clinical studies, I am convinced that what I saw in 1952 did represent a new way of treating these patients. The question is why do we need double blinds, which never initiate anything and merely consume tons of money and time and do very little to further progress in medicine. Under my direction, we did the first double blinds in psychiatry and I felt perfectly justified in also being one of the first to criticize this method.
The adrenochrome hypothesis has been a map that we have followed since then and it has been remarkably effective in directing our investigations in to fruitful areas of research. These include the discovery of the mauve factor, psychedelic therapy, special clinical tests for schizophrenia such as the HOD and EWI test, the discovery that niacin lowers cholesterol levels, better housing for patients, better and more humane treatment of patients and more. Our research, and the use of mega doses of vitamins led to Linus Pauling's formulation of Orthomolecular Psychiatry and Medicine. And I now know a lot more psychiatry than I did when I first started so many years ago.


Top | Autobiography | His Life & Work | A Poetic Tribute |
Books | Research Papers | His Websites for Cancer | Schizophrenia


--
AHANAOA A. C.
Lic. Nut. Miguel Leopoldo Alvarado
http://www.nutriologiaortomolecular.org/
http://www.seattlees.com/

martes, diciembre 16, 2008

Orthomolecular medicine

Orthomolecular medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine which aims to prevent and treat disease with substances which are natural to the body. Prescriptions typically focus on providing nutrients, either through dietary supplements or modified diets which provide proper nutrition and eliminate deleterious substances[1] such as allergens, refined foods, sugar and transfats.[2][3]
The term "orthomolecular" was first coined in a 1967 letter[4] by Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling and later elaborated on in a 1968 paper[5] on micronutrients and psychiatry to express the idea of "the right molecules in the right amounts" (ortho is Greek for right[6]). In this paper, Pauling indicated that the right molecules are "substances that are normally present in the human body."
Orthomolecular medicine began with a particular focus upon mental illness, and orthomolecular psychiatry remains a major subdiscipline.[7] Proponents state that orthomolecular treatments are based on patients' personal biochemistries[8] and employ naturally-occurring or bioequivalent biomolecules, particularly nutrients such as vitamins, dietary minerals, proteins, antioxidants,[9] amino acids, lipotropes,[10] prohormones, dietary fiber, fatty acids and other similar substances,[11] as well as various digestive factors.[12][13]
Some megavitamin therapies can be classified as components of orthomolecular medicine. Orthomolecular practitioners often recommend levels beyond the Recommended Daily Allowance, especially in the prescription of vitamin C megadosage. Megavitamin therapies have become relatively popular, with a survey in 2002 finding that approximately one in twenty-five US adults use high doses of vitamins as a form of therapy,[14] with this being particularly common in people diagnosed with cancer.[15]
Nutrients may be useful in preventing and treating some illnesses,[16][17] but the conclusions of medical research are that the broad claims of disease treatment by advocates of orthomolecular medicine are unsubstantiated by the available evidence.[18][19][16] The American Medical Association stated in 1997 that "much of the dietary intervention stressed by alternative healers is prudent and reasonable", but described as a "myth" the idea that "most diseases are caused by faulty diets and can be prevented by nutritional interventions".[20] Critics have described some aspects of orthomolecular medicine as food faddism or even quackery.[21][22][23] Research on nutrient supplementation in general suggests that some nutritional supplements might be beneficial, and that others might be harmful.[24][25][26]

Contents

[hide]

History and development

As a discipline focused upon using nutrients to treat illness, orthomolecular medicine practitioners trace the origin of the field back to the discovery of vitamins in the early 20th century,[27] although the word "orthomolecular" was coined by Linus Pauling in 1967. Thus orthomolecular practitioners lay claim to figures who preceded later controversies and labels, and perhaps would have rejected the controversial treatments which were later called orthomolecular medicine. Practitioners claim these figures were orthomolecular because of their emphasis on the role of nutrition in treating disease. In a paper on the history of orthomolecular medicine, Menolascino[28] notes that there were several eras in the use of nutrition to treat disease. After the discovery of nutrients at the dawn of the 20th century, some doctors began to think that vitamins could cure many ailments, and nutrition was incorporated into the medical curriculum. Supplements became widely available. As spectacular results were not forthcoming, in the 1950s and 1960s medical science slowly became disillusioned with nutrition and cut it from the standard curriculum,[28] just as orthomolecular medicine was being founded. Orthomolecular medicine highlights some figures from these early years as their founders.
In the 1930s Max Gerson (1881 - 1959) developed Gerson therapy, a specific diet which he claimed could treat many diseases. In 1933, Wilfred and Evan Shute began to use vitamin E in attempts to treat heart disease.[29] Some of the concepts frequently utilized in orthomolecular medicine, such as individual biochemical variation,[8] inborn error of metabolism,[30][28][31] and exogeneous supply of essential substances in therapy[32] debuted in scientific and medical papers early in the 20th century. Orthomolecular megavitamin therapies, such as with tocopherols and ascorbates,[33] date back to the 1930s.
In 1948, William McCormick theorized that vitamin C deficiency played an important role in many diseases, and began to use large doses in patients.[34] In the 1950s, American doctor Frederick Klenner also experimented with the use of vitamin C megadosage as a therapy for a wide range of illnesses, most notably polio, and authored 28 research papers during his career.[35][36] McCormick and Klenner influenced biochemist Irwin Stone, who extensively researched vitamin C and received the first patent for its commercial use. Stone found that all living beings have vitamin C. Further, nearly all vertebrates produce vitamin C, and produce much more when stressed. Some primates, including humans, do not produce vitamin C, and Stone claimed that this was due to a genetic defect which he called hypoascorbemia.[37] Based on a rat's production of vitamin C, a 70 kg human would produce between 1.8 and 4 grams of vitamin C, and a stressed human up to 15.2 grams.[38] This contrasts with the current Dietary Reference Intake, which maintains that 90 mg is adequate, and increases that to 120 mg if pregnant.[39] Based on the levels of vitamin C in other vertebrates, Stone believed that ascorbate was not a trace vitamin but was required in humans in large daily amounts. He produced four papers between 1965 and 1967 to back up this assertion.[40][41][42][43] In 1966 Stone met Linus Pauling and sparked Pauling's interest in vitamin C.[44]
Concurrent with vitamin C developments, orthomolecular psychiatry began to be developed in the early 1950s by a group of biochemists and psychiatrists who believed that certain vitamin deficiencies were associated with mental illness.[45] In particular, psychiatrists Humphry Osmond and Abram Hoffer began to treat a subset of schizophrenics ("acute") with high doses of niacin,[46] continuing work done by William Kaufman, who used niacinamide.[47] Incidental to this effort, Hoffer contributed to the discovery that niacin could treat dyslipidemia in 1954-5.[48]
In 1967, Linus Pauling introduced the expression orthomolecular medicine to describe one aspect of medicine,[4] and the term "orthomolecular therapy", as published in Science in 1968, to express the idea of the right molecules in the right amounts.[5] Pauling subsequently defined "orthomolecular medicine" as "the treatment of disease by the provision of the optimum molecular environment, especially the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body" or as "the preservation of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentrations in the human body of substances that are normally present in the body and are required for health."[49]
Orthomolecular medicine has diversified since its beginnings in1968, but the term orthomolecular is still associated with Pauling's advocacy of vitamin C megadosage for optimal health. Partly for this reason, detractors of orthomolecular medicine have described the practice entirely in terms of megadose nutrient therapy. Barrie R. Cassileth, a widely quoted critic of Pauling's ideas, asserts: "In 1968, the Nobel-prize-winning scientist Linus Pauling coined the term "orthomolecular" to describe the treatment of disease with large quantities of nutrients."[50] In this way, criticism of orthomolecular medicine has, to a large extent, been confused with much older medical traditions of high-dose vitamin therapies, such as earlier "megadose" usages of retinol and ergocalciferol or synthetic pharmaceutical analogues, such as menadione.[51] [52][53] Such definitions of orthomolecular therapy are not synonymous with Pauling's definition. Interest in vitamin C has been renewed, beginning with the discovery that intravenous vitamin C can achieve plasma concentrations up to 70-fold higher than oral vitamin C.[54] A 2005 paper in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences noted that vitamin C selectively killed cancer cells in vitro. This paper noted that, although the original observational studies of vitamin C were based on intravenous administration, the subsequent double-blind placebo-controlled studies used oral ascorbate.[55] In 2007, the researchers demonstrated how vitamin C in vivo could possibly kill cancer cells.[56] A recent historical study of the past ten years has found three patients whose tumors shrank after receiving intravenous vitamin C along with other alternative and conventional treatments. The authors of the study claimed that the case studies "only significant treatment" for these patients was vitamin C.[57][58] However, this is far from conclusive, and studies are currently planned at the McGill University.[59]
In 2008 researchers gave vitamin C intravenously to mice with human derived cancers and observed slower tumor growth and may less metastasis.[60] The authors suggested that the ascorbate was acting as a pro-oxidant and generating hydrogen peroxide in tumors. By injecting into the bloodstream it is possible to get much larger amounts of the vitamin to a tumor than is possible with oral supplements. However, other researchers studying the effects of vitamin C in cancers in mice saw no effect on tumor growth, and found that vitamin C interfered with many standard anti-cancer drugs.[61] The Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Zion, Illinois, is currently (2008) testing the safety of intravenous vitamin C in late-stage cancer patients for whom there is no other treatment option.[62]
Research since the 1960s has branched out further into nutrients besides niacin and vitamin C. David Horrobin did important work with essential fatty acids, which have played an increasingly important part in orthomolecular medicine. Patrick Kidd calls the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapantenoic acid (EPA) truly "orthomolecular" in a 2007 review of their benefits.[63]

Scope

Although orthomolecular medicine is based on the idea that nutritional imbalances should be corrected before illness occurs, and consequently is not easily integrated into any single branch of medicine, its claims are particularly associated with psychiatry, in the field of orthomolecular psychiatry, and oncology, where Linus Pauling reported that Vitamin C could slow the progression of,[64] and even reverse,[65] cancer. As time went on Pauling came to believe that there was a deliberate and concerted effort to denigrate, distort and dissemble his efforts. Ewan Cameron the Scottish oncologist, who collaborated with Pauling, reluctantly came to agree as he believed to perceive mounting evidence to support Pauling's allegations of bad faith.[66]
Proponents of orthomolecular medicine claim that scientists associated with orthomolecular medicine had identified specific biochemical anomalies that account for many cases of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and some similar manifestations, such as, in one case, an previously undescribed copper toxicity disorder.
Based on investigational scientific studies, single-blind and double-blind randomized controlled trials, clinical experience, and case histories, claims have been made that therapeutic nutrition can prevent[67] treat, and sometimes cure acne,[68] bee stings, burns, cancer, the common cold, drug addiction, drug overdose, heart diseases, acute hepatitis, herpes, influenza, mononucleosis, mushroom poisoning, neuropathy & polyneuritis (including multiple sclerosis), osteoporosis,[69] polio, alcoholism,[70] allergies, arthritis, autism, epilepsy, hypertension, hypoglycemia, migraine, clinical depression, learning disabilities, retardation, mental and metabolic disorders, skin problems, and hyperactivity,"[71] Raynaud's disease, heavy metal toxicity, radiation sickness, * Pyroluria, schizophrenia,[72] shock, snakebite, spider bite, tetanus toxin and viral pneumonia.[73]
Most orthomolecular practitioners do not claim to be able to treat all diseases. As Abram Hoffer wrote in 1989: "Nor is orthomolecular treatment a replacement for standard treatment. A proportion of patients will require orthodox treatment, a proportion will do much better on orthomolecular treatment, and the rest will need a skillful blend of both."[74] For example, Hoffer admits that in his experience, acute and not chronic schizophrenia responds to niacin.[75]

Principles

Orthomolecular medicine is predicated on the premise that it is preferable to recognize and correct any possible anomalies in metabolism at an early stage, before they cause disease.[76] Orthomolecular medicine posits that many typical diets are insufficient for long term health; thus, orthomolecular medical diagnoses and treatment often focus on the use of nutrients such as vitamins, dietary minerals, proteins, antioxidants, amino acids, ω-3 fatty acids, ω-6 fatty acids, medium chain triglycerides, dietary fiber, and short and long chain fatty acids, although a wide range of other substances are used, such as lipotropes, systemic and digestive enzymes, other digestive factors, and prohormones. Abram Hoffer wrote a foreword to one edition of Weston Price's 1930 description of his travels and observations of the health and diet among "primitive" peoples who did not consume processed foods, and were spared the ravages of "degenerative" diseases.[77]
Orthomolecular nutrition and therapy attempts to provide optimal amounts of micronutrients. This is done after a diagnoses of the individual, which may involve a blood test, and a detailed personal history. Based on any deficiencies evident in the blood, an understanding of the patient's diet for the last six months or more, and the practitioners understanding of the symptoms exhibited, a prescription of nutrients, including megadoses of certain of them, will be given. Lifestyle changes, and diet changes, if these are indicated, will also be recommended. Modern orthomolecular practitioners also use a wide range of laboratory analyses, including those for amino acids, organic acids, vitamins and minerals, functional vitamin status, hormones, immunology, microbiology, digestive and gastrointestinal function. However, many of these tests are not employed by mainstream medicine for common diagnostic use.
In the early years of orthomolecular medicine, supplementation usually meant high-dose, single-agent nutrient therapy.[74] Today, orthomolecular practitioners use many substances: amino acids, enzymes, hormones, digestive factors, vitamins, minerals, or derivate substances in an effort to supply what they see as optimum dosages of these substances.[78]
Frequently supplementation with relatively large doses of vitamins is given, and the name megavitamin therapy is popularly associated with the area. Megavitamin therapy is the administration of large amounts of vitamins, often many times greater than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The nominal ratio of dose to RDA to qualify for the term 'megavitamin therapy' has been a matter of minor semantic debate.
Administration of short-chain fatty acids in orthomolecular practice is usually done by increasing the level of dietary fiber.[79][80] The fatty acids are produced by fermentation of the fiber in the colon, then absorbed into the body.[81] Attempts are also made to aid this process by a combination of prebiotics and mucopolysaccharides.[82] Long chain fatty acids, such as the omega-3 fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may also be given directly, in food or in capsules.

Prevalence

Orthomolecular medicine is practiced by few conventional medical practitioners.[50][83] Orthomolecular treatments are instead more common in complementary and alternative medicine fields, increasingly being integrated into over the counter retail products, naturopathic medical textbooks and mainstream pharmaceuticals.[84][85]
A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United States by adults age 18 years and over during 2002. The survey reported uses in the previous twelve months that include orthomolecular related uses: Nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products 18.9%, Diet-based therapies 3.5%, Megavitamin therapy 2.8%.[14] The survey did not include other popular related categories such as juicing, supplemental antioxidants, essential fatty acids, amino acids, enzymes and others.
Another recent CAM survey reported that 12% of liver disease patients used the antioxidant silymarin, more than 6% used megavitamins among others, and that "in all, 74% of patients reported using CAM in addition to the medications prescribed by their physician, but 26% did not inform their physician of their CAM use."[86] The use of high doses of vitamins is also common in people who have been diagnosed with cancer, although usage depends of the type of cancer and ranges from 26% to 35% among prostate cancer survivors up to 75% to 87% in breast cancer survivors.[15]

Criticism


Methodology

Orthomolecular medicine advocates claim that the methods of orthomolecular medicine overlap with those of both natural medicine and mainstream medicine. The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine has conventionally-trained doctors among its members and authors, and the notable founders of orthomolecular medicine have all had professional degrees. The leading orthomolecular medicine website, Orthomolecular Medicine Online,[87] run by the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, discusses differences between orthomolecular medicine and mainstream medicine,[78][83]
On the other hand, the conventional view among mainstream medical physicians is that most orthomolecular therapies are insufficiently proven for clinical use, that the scientific foundations are weak, and that the studies that have been performed are too few and too open to disputed interpretation. The lack of serious testing of orthomolecular medicine has led to its practices being classed with other less plausible forms of alternative medicine and regarded as unscientific.[88][89][90] This form of alternative medicine has therefore been described as food faddism and even quackery, with critics arguing that it is based upon an "exaggerated belief in the effects of nutrition upon health and disease".[21][22][23] However, orthomolecular medicine is distinct from many other forms of alternative medicine, such as homeopathy, since its ideas are biologically-based and consistent with scientific laws, it does not involve magical thinking,[91] and it can generate testable hypotheses.[92]
Amongst the differences, mainstream medicine attaches great importance to evidence-based medicine,[93] particularly to rigorous double-blind randomized controlled trials that test if a treatment is genuinely effective and exclude the placebo effect.[94] Orthomolecular medicine proponents, on the other hand, believe that such studies overemphasize uniformity, under-emphasize variability between patients, and reduce choice and health freedom.[95]
Mainstream medicine also avoids the use of new treatments whose effects are unknown, instead favoring 'clinically proven' drugs tested using mainstream medical standards. Even with this standard of caution, it has been estimated that up to 20% of drugs may subsequently have unrecognized, serious adverse reactions, requiring the later addition of the "black box warning", or withdrawal from market.[96]
The skepticism about orthomolecular medicine comes in part because some of its proponents make claims more broad than those supported by scientific research, particularly claims that may contradict the results of clinical trials,[50][97] and rely instead on less reliable observational studies, clinical and anecdotal experience, single blinded controlled tests, and case histories. Proponents of orthomolecular medicine argue that, despite the extensive testing of pharmaceuticals, some medications are withdrawn after approval, due to serious adverse events, and the FDA regulatory methodology and relationship with the pharmaceutical industry has been criticized.[98]

Views on safety and efficacy

Many mainstream medical institutions dismiss orthomolecular medicine entirely. The American Medical Association describes as "myths" the ideas that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are widespread, that the causes of most diseases are poor diets, or that most diseases can be prevented by nutritional supplements.[20] Similarly, the American Cancer Society comments that the current scientific evidence does not "support use of orthomolecular therapy for most of the conditions for which it is promoted". They stated some supplements have exhibited benefits for certain conditions, while a few have been confirmed to be harmful, and that the consumption of nutritious foods is the best recognized method to obtain vitamins, minerals, and nutrients crucial for good health.[16] In another example, an adviser on alternative medicine to the National Institutes of Health, stated that "Scientific research has found no benefit from orthomolecular therapy for any disease"[50] and a recent medical textbook also states that there is "no evidence that megavitamin or orthomolecular therapy is effective in treating any disease."[99]
Proponents of orthomolecular medicine counter that vitamins and nutrients are now used in conventional medicine as treatments for disease, such as megadose niacin and fish oil for dyslipidemias,[100][101][102] 6000-25,000 iu vitamin E per day[103][104] for the lipid disorder, abetalipoproteinemia, and megavitamin therapies for over a dozen amino acid metabolism disorders.[28] Current medical research on alternative medicine attempts to assess the evidence either for or against the variety of nutritional therapies currently offered, with a recent review in the Annals of Internal Medicine concluding that while some might be beneficial, others might be harmful or interfere with conventional therapy.[105]
Dietary supplements, such as those used in orthomolecular medicine, are less regulated than pharmaceuticals in the United States. Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis in JAMA suggested that supplementation with combinations of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality, although with respect to beta-carotene this conclusion may be due to the known harmful effect in smokers.[106] An essential regulatory difference is that pharmaceuticals must be proven safe and effective to the satisfaction of the FDA before they can be marketed, whereas supplements must be proven unsafe before regulatory action can be taken.[107] A number of orthomolecular US supplements are available in pharmaceutical versions that are sometimes quite similar in strength and general content, or in other countries are pharmaceuticals. The US regulations also have provisions to recognize a general level of safety for established nutrients that can forgo new drug safety tests. Proponents of nutritional supplement use have argued that the lower level of regulation results in cost savings for American consumers, pointing to higher supplement prices in Europe, where some supplements are more tightly regulated or even unavailable.[108] [109]

Relation to mainstream medicine

Aspects of orthomolecular therapy remain controversial among mainstream medical organizations and physicians, who consider many aspects to be lacking sufficient RCT-based evidence. In contrast, orthomolecular proponents argue that many mainstream nutritional studies, both recent and historical, provide investigational and clinical support for their treatments and recommendations.[110] They also argue that orthomolecular therapies are intrinsically less likely to cause dangerous side-effects or harm, since they utilize only chemicals that are normally present in the body.[3][111][112] Supporters claim that some aspects of orthomolecular medicine, and in particular the optimal nutrition subset, have support in mainstream scientific research in a variety of areas that do not claim to support orthomolecular doctrine, and in at least some cases, explicitly reject claims of orthomolecular proponents that nutritional supplements are desirable.[113]
Orthomolecular proponents, such as Robert Cathcart, who predicts that 120+ grams per day intravenous vitamin C should cure severe acute respiratory syndrome[114] and has used up to 250 grams IV vitamin C per day, have been criticized for not having any conventional medical trials of such intravenous vitamin C treatments.[115]
The orthomolecular field remains controversial among mainstream medical organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, CHAMPUS, and the Canadian Paediatric Society. A number of individuals and organizations contest the claims, benefits, degree of evidence and toxicity.[50][16] Based on testing with dosages well below orthomolecular recommendations, Linus Pauling has been criticized for making overbroad claims[116] for the efficacy of vitamin C but Paulings' claims have received some support from tests closer to the orthomolecular recommendations during the last few years.[117]
The relationship of mainstream medicine to orthomolecular proponents has often been adversarial; orthomolecular proponents, including Dr. Richard Kunin, argue that mainstream medical claimants confuse orthomolecular medicine with other, less science based modalities.[78] The American Academy of Pediatrics labelled orthomolecular medicine a "cult" in 1976, in response to claims that orthomolecular medicine could cure childhood psychoses and learning disorders.[118]
Conventional health professionals see orthomolecular medicine as encouraging individuals to dose themselves with large amounts of vitamins and other nutrients without conventional supervision, which they worry might be damaging to health. Rare risks[119] of non-orthomolecular "mega" dosages of vitamin relatives, which frequently involved pharmaceutical analogues such as synthetic menadione, unsupervised misuse, deliberate abuse and earlier medical treatments, may include increased risk of coronary heart disease,[120] hypertension, thrombophlebitis, peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, neurological effects, liver toxicity, congenital abnormalities, spontaneous abortion, gouty arthritis, jaundice, kidney stones, and diarrhea.[121][122][123][124] Megavitamin proponents point[125] to an almost zero level of deaths caused by vitamins, even with large overdoses, compared to the significant numbers from pharmaceuticals, including a number of over-the-counter items.

Use of vitamin E in orthomolecular medicine

Vitamin E contains eight related chemicals, which are classed as either tocopherols or tocotrienols. These chemicals also exist as several stereoisomers.[126] In supplements these are usually present in stabilized ester forms, which are converted into the active form in the intestines.[127] Research has focussed on alpha-tocopherol, since this is the form preferentially taken up by the body and the most abundant form in tissues.[128] Alpha-tocopherol is also regarded in orthomolecular medicine as the form with greatest nutritional significance.[129] In supplements this is either a mixture of stereoisomers (all-rac-alpha-tocopherol), or the biological stereoisomer RRR-alpha-tocopherol.[126]
Initial hopes for the usefulness of vitamin E in orthomolecular medicine were based on epidemiological studies. These suggested that people who consumed more vitamin E had lower risks of chronic disease, such as coronary heart disease, and led to the idea that vitamin E supplementation could be beneficial.[130] However, these observational studies could not distinguish between whether the higher levels of vitamin E improved health themselves, or whether confounding variables were responsible - such as whether or not such people ate a more healthy diet or took more exercise.[131][132] To distinguish between these possibilities, many randomized controlled trials were performed. Meta-analysis of these controlled clinical trials have not shown any clear benefit from any form of alpha-tocopherol supplementation for preventing chronic disease.[133][134][135][126]
A meta-analysis published in 2005 found that more than 400 units alpha tocopherol per day was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality.[136] Furthermore, a significant relationship was seen between dose and all-cause mortality, with the risk of death increasing in line with the dose. This meta-analysis was criticized on a number of grounds, including that this increase in mortality could have been caused by alpha-tocopherol and beta carotene increasing the risk of lung cancer in heavy smokers.[137] A similar increase in mortality was seen in a 2007 meta-analysis[138] Here, no health risk was seen when all the randomized controlled studies were examined together, but an increase in mortality was detected when the high-quality and low-bias risk trials were examined separately. However, as the majority of these low-bias trials dealt with either elderly people, or people already suffering disease, these results may not apply to the general population.[139] This meta-analysis was later repeated and extended by the same authors, with the new analysis published by the Cochrane Collaboration; this also concluded that some vitamin E supplements could be harmful.[26]
Orthomolecular recommendations for vitamin E supplementation typically are based on a mixture of tocopheols and tocotrienols.[140] Forms of "vitamin E", which contain mixed R,R,R tocopherols and are also recommended by some orthomolecular practitioners.[141] These other forms of vitamin E have not been examined in as much detail as alpha-tocopherol and may have effects on health that are not produced by the alpha-tocopherol form alone.[142][129][143]

Time and therapeutic priority

Conventional physicians express concern that megavitamin and orthomolecular therapies used solely as alternative treatments by other practitioners, if not successful, may create dangerous delays in obtaining conventional treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy for cancer. For example, in a highly publicized Canadian controversy, the chemotherapy of a 13-year-old cancer patient, Tyrell Dueck, encountered a delay from legal actions, due to his parents' religious beliefs and interest in alternative treatments such as diet, herbs and vitamins.[144][145] Orthomolecular medical practitioners and orthomolecular oriented naturopaths have long expressed similar concerns about conventional medicine,[146] particularly with gut related and chronic diseases as well as viral diseases.[147][148][149][150] It is usually possible, however, to combine orthomolecular and conventional treatments.

Use in AIDS

Several orthomolecular related AIDS approaches such as multivitamins,[151] selenium[152] and amino acids[153] are used with reported improvements in patients. High dose vitamin C treatments have long been used clinically by some orthomolecular practitioners to treat AIDS patients.[154][155] However, in these situations, medical criticism arises when orthomolecular approaches are advocated as substitutes for, rather than complements to, current medical treatments such as antiretroviral drugs.[156]
An analysis of fifteen clinical trials of micronutrient therapies by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2005 found no conclusive evidence that such micronutrient approaches either reduce symptoms or mortality in HIV-infected adults who are not malnourished, but found evidence that giving vitamin A to infants with HIV is beneficial.[157] The protective effect of vitamin A in children was also seen in a further trial,[158] and it has been hypothesized that this effect might be due to vitamin A modulating the gut immune system.[159] Interestingly, no protection from vitamin A against infection was seen in healthy children.[160]

Economic interests and politics

Some orthomolecular proponents claim that their findings are actively suppressed by mainstream medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Abram Hoffer wrote that "there is no conspiracy led and directed by a single person or by a single organization ... [h]owever, there is a conspiracy led and directed by a large number of professionals and their associations who have a common aim to protect their hard-earned orthodoxy, no matter what the cost to their opponent colleagues or to their patients".[161] Mainstream medicine regards such claims of a conspiracy as unsubstantiated,[162][163] with a review in Journal of Clinical Oncology stating that the idea there is a conspiracy amongst physicians against unconventional and unproven treatments is a common theme in forms of alternative medicine such as megavitamin therapy.[164]
The actions of Matthias Rath in South Africa have come under particular scrutiny. Rath worked with Linus Pauling and served as Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Linus Pauling Institute until 1992. He has published several papers on orthomolecular medicine, most notably a review co-authored with Pauling,[165] with Abram Hoffer listing Rath as a notable contributor to the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.[166] However, the relationship between Rath and Pauling later broke down over a lawsuit on intellectual property rights.[167] Rath now promotes vitamins as a treatment for HIV infection, describing treatment with antiretroviral drugs as part of a global conspiracy serving the financial interests of the pharmaceutical industry.[156] In a lawsuit that found against Rath, the South African Medical Association blamed his vitamin products for several deaths,[168][169] the World Health Organization and two health agencies of the United Nations also described Rath's advertisements as "wrong and misleading" and "an irresponsible attack on ARV (antiretroviral) therapy."[170]
The Linus Pauling Institute's funding comes mostly from National Institutes of Health.[171] Several orthomolecular therapies have been officially sanctioned within Europe[172] and Japan.[173] [174][175]

Notable supporters of orthomolecular medicine


Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, founded in 1967 as the Journal of Schizophrenia, is the main publication of those involved in Orthomolecular Medicine. Abram Hoffer has written that "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."[176]

[edit] See also


[edit] Citations

  1. ^ A Hoffer, M Walker (2000) Smart Nutrients, Avery, ISBN 0895295628
  2. ^ Orthomolecular medicine Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Patricia Skinner
  3. ^ a b Definition of Orthomolecular medicine at www.orthomed.org Accessed June 2006
  4. ^ a b Pauling L. Orthomolecular Somatic and Psychiatric Medicine ", Communication: Luxembourg and Trier on 18-24 September 1967; Pauling L. 1968b: Orthomolecular Somatic and Psychiatric Medicine J Vital Substances and Diseases of Civilization'', 14; 1-3.
  5. ^ a b Orthomolecular psychiatry. Varying the concentrations of substances normally present in the human body may control mental disease,Science 1968 Apr 19;160(825):265-71. (PMID 5641253) [1]
  6. ^ ISOM. About OM
  7. ^ Syd Baumel (Aug 2000) "Chapter 5, The Orthomolecular Medical Approach to Depression", "Chapter 6, Vitamin Power", Dealing with Depression Naturally: Complementary and Alternative Therapies, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill; ISBN 0658002910
  8. ^ a b Roger J. Williams (1998) Biochemical Individuality: The Basis for the Genetotrophic Concept. 2nd ed. Keats Publishing. ISBN 0-87983-893-0
  9. ^ Alpha-Lipoic Acid (Thioctic Acid): My Experience
  10. ^ Reduction of Cholesterol and Lp(A) in Regression of Coronary Artery Disease: A Case Study
  11. ^ Coenzyme Q10: A Novel Cardiac Antioxidant (1997)
  12. ^ RC Atkins (1998) Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answer to Drugs, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684844885
  13. ^ JV Wright, L Lenard (2001) Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You, M. Evans and Company, Inc. ISBN 0871319314
  14. ^ a b NCCAM.NIH table 1 on page 8
  15. ^ a b Velicer CM, Ulrich CM (2008). "Vitamin and mineral supplement use among US adults after cancer diagnosis: a systematic review". J. Clin. Oncol. 26 (4): 665–73. doi:10.1200/JCO.2007.13.5905. PMID 18235127. http://www.jco.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18235127. 
  16. ^ a b c d "ACS : Orthomolecular Medicine". American Cancer Society (2007-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  17. ^ Lakhan SE, Vieira KF (2008) Nutritional therapies for mental disorders. Nutr J 7: 2. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-2 PMID 18208598
  18. ^ Stuart Aaronson et al. "Cancer Medicine", 2003, BC Decker Inc ISBN 1–55009–213–8, Section 20, p76
  19. ^ Nutrition Committee, Canadian Paediatric Society (1990). "Megavitamin and megamineral therapy in childhood". CMAJ 143 (10): 1009–1013. PMID 1699646. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1452516. Retrieved on 4 April 2008. 
  20. ^ a b Report 12 of the Council on Scientific Affairs: Alternative medicine American Medical Association June 1997, Accessed 21 March 2008
  21. ^ a b Jarvis WT (1983). "Food faddism, cultism, and quackery". Annu. Rev. Nutr. 3: 35–52. doi:10.1146/annurev.nu.03.070183.000343. PMID 6315036. 
  22. ^ a b Jukes, T.H. (1990). "Nutrition Science from Vitamins to Molecular Biology". Annual Review of Nutrition 10 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1146/annurev.nu.10.070190.000245.  A short summary is in the journal's preface.
  23. ^ a b Braganza, S.F.; Ozuah, P.O. (2005). "Fad Therapies". Pediatrics in Review 26 (10): 371–376. doi:10.1542/pir.26-10-371. PMID 16199591. 
  24. ^ "NIH State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention". NIH Consens State Sci Statements 23 (2): 1–30. 2006. PMID 17332802. http://consensus.nih.gov/2006/2006MultivitaminMineralSOS028main.htm. 
  25. ^ Huang HY, Caballero B, Chang S, et al (September 2006). "The efficacy and safety of multivitamin and mineral supplement use to prevent cancer and chronic disease in adults: a systematic review for a National Institutes of Health state-of-the-science conference". Ann. Intern. Med. 145 (5): 372–85. doi:10.1001/archinte.145.2.372. PMID 16880453. http://www.annals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=reprint&pmid=16880453. 
  26. ^ a b Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C (2008). "Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2): CD007176. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007176. 
  27. ^ History of Orthomolecular Medicine
  28. ^ a b c d Menolascino FJ, et al. "Orthomolecular Therapy: Its History and Applicability to Psychiatric Disorders", Child Psychiatry and Human Development, Vol.18(3), Spring 1988, pp 140-1
  29. ^ Wilfred and Evan Shute
  30. ^ Stephen F. Mason. THE SCIENCE AND HUMANISM OF LINUS PAULING (1901-1994). Chemical Society Reviews, 26, no. 1 (February 1997). Section 5, Molecular Medicine: "...Garrod in his book, Inborn Error of Metabolism (1909, 1923) "
  31. ^ Lois N. Magner A History of Medicine, Informa Healthcare; 2nd edition (June 23, 2005) ISBN 0824740742
  32. ^ Beard J. The action of 'trypsin' upon living cells of the Jensen sarcoma. Brit Med J 1906;1:140-141 (Jan. 20, 1906).
  33. ^ AscorbateWeb: Timeline from 1935 to 1939
  34. ^ MEGADOSES OF VITAMIN C AND DR. WILLIAM J. McCORMICK, McCormick HoF
  35. ^ Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pioneering Work of Frederick Robert Klenner, M.D. Andrew W. Saul, online reprint from J Orthomolecular Med, 2007. Vol 22, No 1, p 31-38, Accessed October 2007
  36. ^ A posthumous summary of Frederick Klenner's 28 papers. Lendon H. Smith, M.D., Clinical Guide to the Use of Vitamin C - The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D. . Accessed October 2007.
  37. ^ The Natural History of Ascorbic Acid in the Evolution of Mammals and Primates, Irwin Stone, 1972
  38. ^ Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range of a Vitamin in Human Pathology
  39. ^ Council for Responsible Nutrition. Vitamin and Mineral Recommendations
  40. ^ STONE. I.: Studies of a Mammalian Enzyme System for Producing Evolutionary Evidence on Man. Amer. J. Phys. Anthrop. 15, 83-85, 1965.
  41. ^ STONE. I.: On the Genetic Etiology of Scurvy. Acts Genet. Med. Gemellol. 15, 345-350,1966.
  42. ^ STONE, I.: Hypoascorbemia, the Genetic Disease Causing the Human Requirement for Exogenous Ascorbic Acid, Perspectives Bio. Med. 10, 133-134, 1966.
  43. ^ STONE, I.: The Genetic Disease, Hyposacorbemia: A Fresh Approach to an Ancient Disease and Some of its Medical Implications, Acta Genet Med. Gemellol. 16, 52-62. 1967.
  44. ^ In Memoriam Irwin Stone
  45. ^ ISOM. ISOM History of OM
  46. ^ Humphry Osmond HoF
  47. ^ Walter Kaufman HoF, Kaufman's bibliography
  48. ^ Guyton JR (2007). "Niacin in cardiovascular prevention: mechanisms, efficacy, and safety". Curr. Opin. Lipidol. 18 (4): 415–20. doi:10.1097/MOL.0b013e3282364add. PMID 17620858. 
  49. ^ Definition of Orthomolecular medicine at www.orthomed.org Accessed June 2006 and What is Orthomolecular Medicine?, Linus Pauling Inst.
  50. ^ a b c d e Cassileth BR. Alternative medicine handbook: the complete reference guide to alternative and complementary therapies. New York: W.W.Norton & Co., 1998:67.
  51. ^ Meyer TC, Angus J. "The effect of large doses of 'Synkavit' in the newborn". Arch Dis Child 1956; vol 31, p. 212-5.
  52. ^ Laurance B. "Danger of vitamin K analogues to newborn." Lancet 1955; vol 1, p 819.
  53. ^ Sutor AH. New Aspects of Vitamin K Prophylaxis. Semin Thromb Hemost 2003; vol 29, p 373-376 "The problem was solved when synkavit [editor's note: no longer on the market] was replaced by low-dose (1 mg) [vitamin K1 phytomenadion"
  54. ^ Annals of Internal Medicine. [Vitamin C Pharmacokinetics: Implications for Oral and Intravenous Use http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/140/7/533]
  55. ^ PNAS. Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively kill cancer cells
  56. ^ Ascorbate in pharmacologic concentrations selectively generates ascorbate radical and hydrogen peroxide in extracellular fluid in vivo
  57. ^ Padayatty SJ, Riordan HD, Hewitt SM, Katz A, Hoffer LJ, Levine M (March 2006). "Intravenously administered vitamin C as cancer therapy: three cases". CMAJ 174 (7): 937–42. doi:10.1503/cmaj.050346. PMID 16567755. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16567755. 
  58. ^ Assouline S, Miller WH (March 2006). "High-dose vitamin C therapy: renewed hope or false promise?". CMAJ 174 (7): 956–7. doi:10.1503/cmaj.060228. PMID 16567756. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16567756. 
  59. ^ Research backs theory that vitamin C shrinks tumours. The Independent, 28 March 2006
  60. ^ Chen Q, Espey MG, Sun AY, et al (August 2008). "Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a prooxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 (32): 11105–11109. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804226105. PMID 18678913. http://www.pnas.org/content/105/32/11105.full. 
  61. ^ Heaney ML, Gardner JR, Karasavvas N, et al (October 2008). "Vitamin C antagonizes the cytotoxic effects of antineoplastic drugs". Cancer Res. 68 (19): 8031–8. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-1490. PMID 18829561. Lay summary – New York Times (2008-10-01). 
  62. ^ Vitamin C jabs may combat cancer New Scientist news service 04 August 2008. Accessed August 2008.
  63. ^ Kidd PM (September 2007). "Omega-3 DHA and EPA for cognition, behavior, and mood: clinical findings and structural-functional synergies with cell membrane phospholipids". Altern Med Rev 12 (3): 207–27. PMID 18072818. http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/12/3/207.pdf. 
  64. ^ Cameron E, Pauling L (1976). "Supplemental ascorbate in the supportive treatment of cancer: prolongation of survival times in terminal human cancer" (pdf). Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences 73: 3685–3689. doi:10.1073/pnas.73.10.3685. PMID 1068480. http://yost.com/health/klenner/klenner-1971.pdf. Retrieved on 31 May 2008. 
  65. ^ Ewan Cameron, Linus Pauling (1979). Cancer and vitamin C : a discussion of the nature, causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer with special reference to the value of vitamin C. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-50000-4. 
  66. ^ Thomas Hager (1995). Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684809095. 
  67. ^ Clinical Data Shows Vitamin C May Reduce Risks of Cancer, Heart Disease and Variety of Other Health Disorders Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News , September 24 2007 reporting on Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine (vol. 3, iss. 1, pp. 25-35) Mark A. Moyad, MD, MPH of University of Michigan. accessed October 2007
  68. ^ Leung LH, A Stone that Kills two Birds: How Pantothenic Acid Unveils the Mysteries of Acne Vulgaris and Obesity, J. Orthomolecular Med., Vol. 12, 2nd Qtr 1997, Accessed 9 July 2007
  69. ^ Plaza SW, Lamson DW. Vitamin K2 in Bone Metabolism and Osteoporosis. Alt Medicine Review, Vol 10, No 1.
  70. ^ Hoffer A, et al. Treatment Protocol for Alcoholism. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, 1 Jul 2005
  71. ^ Princeton Brain Bio Center. Brochure, distributed to patients. Skillman, N.J., 1983, The Center.
  72. ^ Skinner P, "Orthomolecular Medicine", Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine: Holistic medicine, Thomson Gale, 2004.
  73. ^ Klenner, F.R. (1971). "Observations on the dose and administration of ascorbic acid when employed beyond the range of a vitamin in human pathology" (pdf). J Appl Nutr 23: 61–88. http://yost.com/health/klenner/klenner-1971.pdf. Retrieved on 21 March 2008. 
  74. ^ a b Richard P. Huemer MD, Orthomolecular Medicine, Encyclopedia of Complementary Health Practice, Springer Publishing Company, September 18, 1997. available online
  75. ^ Hoffer, A. Letter - Megavitamin and megamineral therapy in childhood
  76. ^ Huemer RP. A theory of diagnosis for orthomolecular medicine. J Theor Biol 1977 67:625-635. Reprinted in Advances 1984 1(3):53-59.
  77. ^ Weston Price (2008) [Nutrition and Physical Degeneration],Price Pottenger Nutrition; Eight Edition edition . ISBN-10: 0916764206
  78. ^ a b c http://orthomed.org/kunin.html Principles That Identify Orthormolecular Medicine: A Unique Medical Specialty by Richard A. Kunin
  79. ^ Monica & Gene Spiller (2005) What's with Fiber?, Ch 3, pp 22-29. Basic Health Publications. ISBN 159120111X
  80. ^ Gene A. Spiller (2001) CRC Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition, Third Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 0849323878
  81. ^ Escudero Alvarez E, González Sánchez P (2006). "Dietary fibre". Nutr Hosp 21 Suppl 2: 60–71, 61–72. PMID 16771074. 
  82. ^ Lester M Morrison, OA Schjeide (1974) Coronary heart disease and the mucopolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans), Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL,, ISBN 0398029032
  83. ^ a b Orthomolecular Medicine Revisited, Wunderlich RC, Orthomolecular Medicine Online, accessed 6 Nov 2006
  84. ^ OMACOR®(omega-3-acid ethyl esters), Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  85. ^ Mason M. "An Old Cholesterol Remedy [Niacin Is New Again"]. NY Times, January 23, 2007
  86. ^ Strader DB, Bacon BR, Lindsay KL, La Brecque DR, Morgan T, Wright EC, Allen J, Khokar MF, Hoofnagle JH, Seeff LB. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with liver disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2002 Sep;97(9):2391-7.
  87. ^ Orthomolecular Medicine Online
  88. ^ Leibovici L (1999). "Alternative (complementary) medicine: a cuckoo in the nest of empiricist reed warblers". BMJ 319 (7225): 1629–32. PMID 10600974. PMC: 1127092. http://bmj.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=10600974. 
  89. ^ Sampson, W.; Atwood Iv, K. (2005). "Propagation of the Absurd: demarcation of the Absurd revisited". Med. J Aust 183 (11-12): 580–581. https://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/183_11_051205/sam10986_fm.pdf. 
  90. ^ Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2000), Report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, http://www.lrc.ky.gov/lrcpubs/Rm491.pdf 
  91. ^ Lindeman, M.; Keskivaara, P.; Roschier, M. (2000). "Assessment of Magical Beliefs about Food and Health". Journal of Health Psychology 5 (2): 195. http://hpq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/5/2/195. 
  92. ^ Jonas, W. B. (1999), "Magic and Methodology: when Paradigms Clash", The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 5 (4): 319–321, doi:10.1089/acm.1999.5.319, http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.1999.5.319 
  93. ^ Akobeng AK (2005). "Principles of evidence based medicine". Arch. Dis. Child. 90 (8): 837–40. doi:10.1136/adc.2005.071761. PMID 16040884. http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/90/8/837. 
  94. ^ Weihrauch TR, Gauler TC (1999). "Placebo--efficacy and adverse effects in controlled clinical trials". Arzneimittelforschung 49 (5): 385–93. PMID 10367099. 
  95. ^ DJ Hess, Complementary or Alternative? Stronger vs Weaker Integration Policies Am J Public Health. 2002 October; 92(10): 1579–1581.
  96. ^ Lasser KE, Allen PD, Woolhandler SJ, Himmelstein DU, Wolfe SM, Bor DH. Timing of New Black Box Warnings and Withdrawals for Prescription Medications. JAMA. 2002;287:2215-2220.
  97. ^ http://www.canstats.org/readdetail.asp?id=542
  98. ^ Marcia Angell, (August 24, 2004) The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It, Random House, 1st ed, ISBN 0-375-50846-5
  99. ^ Frei, Emil; Kufe, Donald W.; Holland, James F. (2003). Cancer medicine 6. Hamilton, Ont: BC Decker. pp. 76. ISBN 1550092138. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?highlight=orthomolecular&rid=cmed6.section.18479&WebEnv=0MnZPX94hO0XD2ugCELLkbhpkV5QLNBinRc8fAJ1IwDvCVoCzamY2zTpsFeeRiEdbTVTXzrZpQLqXt%40263F77C978AD3D40_0136SID&WebEnvRq=1#18482. Retrieved on 4 April 2008. 
  100. ^ Braverman ER, Weissberg E, "Fish Oil As One Therapy in Cardiovascular Risk Factor Reduction," J Orthomolecular Medicine, 3(1), 1987
  101. ^ Berra K (2004). "Clinical update on the use of niacin for the treatment of dyslipidemia". J Am Acad Nurse Pract 16 (12): 526–34. PMID 15645997. 
  102. ^ "Don't overlook niacin for treating cholesterol problems. If you can conquer or cope with the "niacin flush," this B vitamin can do wonders for cholesterol". Harv Heart Lett 14 (8): 4–5. 2004. PMID 15100082. 
  103. ^ M Traber, Linus Pauling Institute, A Kamal-Eldin; "Oxidative stress and vitamin E in anemia", p. 164, Ch 11 in Nutritional Anemia , 2007, SIGHT AND LIFE, Basel, Switzerland " " both hypobetalipoproteinemic or abetalipoproteinemic subjects become vitamin E deficient and develop a characteristic neurologic if they are not given large vitamin E supplements (approximately 10 g per day)"
  104. ^ Granot E, Kohen R. Oxidative stress in abetalipoproteinemia patients receiving long-term vitamin E and vitamin A supplementation, AJCN, Vol. 79, No. 2, 226-230, February 2004
  105. ^ Eisenberg DM, Cohen MH, Hrbek A, Grayzel J, Van Rompay MI, Cooper RA (December 2002). "Credentialing complementary and alternative medical providers". Ann. Intern. Med. 137 (12): 965–73. PMID 12484712. http://www.annals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12484712. 
  106. ^ Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C (2007). "Mortality in randomized trials of antioxidant supplements for primary and secondary prevention: systematic review and meta-analysis". JAMA 297 (8): 842–57. doi:10.1001/jama.297.8.842. PMID 17327526.  See also the letter to JAMA by Philip Taylor and Sanford Dawsey and the reply by the authors of the original paper.
  107. ^ "Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994". Food and Drug Administration (1994-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  108. ^ Falloon, W (2005-07-01). "What Do "Regulated" Supplements Cost". Life Extension Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  109. ^ Dodge T, Kaufman A (July 2007). "What makes consumers think dietary supplements are safe and effective? The role of disclaimers and FDA approval". Health Psychol. 26 (4): 513–7. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.26.4.513. PMID 17605572. 
  110. ^ Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS) Listing or research and news items favourable to the Orthomolecular point of view
  111. ^ What is Orthomolecular Medicine?, Linus Pauling Institute. Accessed online, 1 Nov 2007
  112. ^ How safe are vitamins? Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, November 9, 2005 - Accessed August 2006
  113. ^ Jacobs, Joseph; Spencer, John A. D. (2003). Complementary and alternative medicine: an evidence-based approach. St. Louis: Mosby. ISBN 0323020283. 
  114. ^ Cathcart, RF. "The Ascorbate Effect in Infectious and Autoimmune Diseases". Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  115. ^ Hasslberger, S (2003-06-06). "Vitamin C could be effective against SARS". New Media Explorer. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  116. ^ Barrett, SJ (2001-05-05). "The Dark Side of Linus Pauling's Legacy". Quackwatch. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  117. ^ Padayatty SJ, Sun H, Wang Y, et al (2004). "Vitamin C pharmacokinetics: implications for oral and intravenous use" (pdf). Ann. Intern. Med. 140 (7): 533–7. PMID 15068981. http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/140/7/533.pdf. 
  118. ^ "American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition: megavitamin therapy for childhood psychoses and learning disabilities". Pediatrics 58 (6): 910–2. 1976. PMID 995522. 
  119. ^ Rosenbloom, M (2007-12-12). "emedicine Toxicity, vitamin". eMedicine. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  120. ^ Rapola JM, Virtamo J, Ripatti S, et al (1997). "Randomised trial of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplements on incidence of major coronary events in men with previous myocardial infarction". Lancet 349 (9067): 1715–20. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(97)01234-8. PMID 9193380. 
  121. ^ Arroyave G (1988). "[Abuse of megadoses of vitamins]" (in Spanish; Castilian). Arch Latinoam Nutr 38 (3): 589–98. PMID 3153129. 
  122. ^ Blair KA (1986). "Vitamin supplementation and megadoses". Nurse Pract 11 (7): 19–26, 31–6. PMID 3737019. 
  123. ^ Roberts HJ (1995). "Vitamin E". Lancet 345 (8951): 737. PMID 7885163. 
  124. ^ Bégin M, Kaegi E (1999). "Unconventional therapies and cancer" (pdf). CMAJ 161 (6): 686–7. PMID 10513271. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/161/6/686. 
  125. ^ Saul, AW (2005-05-12). "Testimony by Andrew W. Saul before the Government of Canada, House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, regarding natural health product safety". Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  126. ^ a b c Kline K, Lawson KA, Yu W, Sanders BG (2007). "Vitamin E and cancer". Vitam. Horm. 76: 435–61. doi:10.1016/S0083-6729(07)76017-X. PMID 17628185. 
  127. ^ Cheeseman KH, Holley AE, Kelly FJ, Wasil M, Hughes L, Burton G (November 1995). "Biokinetics in humans of RRR-alpha-tocopherol: the free phenol, acetate ester, and succinate ester forms of vitamin E". Free Radic. Biol. Med. 19 (5): 591–8. doi:10.1016/0891-5849(95)00083-A. PMID 8529918. 
  128. ^ Rigotti A (2007). "Absorption, transport, and tissue delivery of vitamin E". Mol. Aspects Med. 28 (5-6): 423–36. doi:10.1016/j.mam.2007.01.002. PMID 17320165. 
  129. ^ a b Vitamin E Micronutrient Information Center, Linus Pauling Institute, Accessed31 May 2008
  130. ^ Traber MG (November 2006). "How much vitamin E? ... Just enough!". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 84 (5): 959–60. PMID 17093143. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=17093143. 
  131. ^ Gaziano JM (December 2004). "Vitamin E and cardiovascular disease: observational studies". Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1031: 280–91. doi:10.1196/annals.1331.028. PMID 15753154. http://www.annalsnyas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=15753154. 
  132. ^ Hemilä H, Miller ER (July 2007). "Evidence-based medicine and vitamin E supplementation". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 86 (1): 261–2; author reply 262–4. PMID 17616790. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=17616790. 
  133. ^ Vivekananthan DP, Penn MS, Sapp SK, Hsu A, Topol EJ (2003). "Use of antioxidant vitamins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of randomised trials". Lancet 361 (9374): 2017–23. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13637-9. PMID 12814711. 
  134. ^ Stocker R (2007). "Vitamin E". Novartis Found. Symp. 282: 77–87; discussion 87–92, 212–8. doi:10.1002/9780470319444.ch6. PMID 17913225. 
  135. ^ Cherubini A, Vigna GB, Zuliani G, Ruggiero C, Senin U, Fellin R (2005). "Role of antioxidants in atherosclerosis: epidemiological and clinical update". Curr. Pharm. Des. 11 (16): 2017–32. doi:10.2174/1381612054065783. PMID 15974956. 
  136. ^ Miller ER, Pastor-Barriuso R, Dalal D, Riemersma RA, Appel LJ, Guallar E (2005). "Meta-analysis: high-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality". Ann. Intern. Med. 142 (1): 37–46. PMID 15537682. http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/142/1/37. 
  137. ^ Carter, T. Responses and Comments: High-Dosage Vitamin E Supplementation and All-Cause Mortality, Ann Intern Med. 2005 Jul 19;143(2):155; responses 150-160
  138. ^ Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud L, Simonetti R, Gluud C (2007). "Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis". JAMA 297 (8): 842–57. doi:10.1001/jama.297.8.842. PMID 17327526. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/297/8/842. 
  139. ^ Study Citing Antioxidant Vitamin Risks Based On Flawed Methodology, Experts Argue News release from Oregon State University published on ScienceDaily, Accessed 19 April 2007
  140. ^ M Walker, New/Old Findings on Unique Vitamin E, Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, No. 111, 1992, p. 826
  141. ^ Hoffer, A. The Finnish Antioxidant and Lung Cancer Study
  142. ^ Jiang Q, Christen S, Shigenaga MK, Ames BN (2001). "gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 74 (6): 714–22. PMID 11722951. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/74/6/714. 
  143. ^ Helzlsouer KJ, Huang HY, Alberg AJ, Hoffman S, Burke A, Norkus EP, Morris JS, Comstock GW. (2000). "Association between alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, selenium, and subsequent prostate cancer.". J Natl Cancer Inst. 92 (24): 2018–23. PMID 11121464. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11121464. 
  144. ^ MA Somerville (2004) The Ethical Canary: Science, Society and the Human Spirit, pp 175-179, McGill-Queen's University Press; 1 ed, ISBN 0773527842
  145. ^ Sask. court rules boy with cancer can't pick treatment CBC, Friday, November 10, 2000, Accessed 07 April 2008
  146. ^ Hoffer A, "The Politics of Medical Research" J Orthomol Med, vol 8, no 1, 1993
  147. ^ Klenner, FR. Observations On the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range Of A Vitamin. Human Pathology Journal of Applied Nutrition Vol. 23, No's 3 & 4, Winter 1971.
  148. ^ Klenner FR. Virus Pneumonia and Its Treatment With Vitamin C. Southern Med Surg, v110, no 2, p36, 1948.
  149. ^ Klenner FR. The Treatment of Poliomyelitis and Other Virus Diseases with Vitamin C, Southern Med Surg, v111, no 7, p209, 1949.
  150. ^ Klenner FR. The Use of Vitamin C as an Antibiotic. J Appl Nutr, vol 6, p274, 1953
  151. ^ Abrams B, Duncan D, Hertz-Picciotto I (August 1993). "A prospective study of dietary intake and acquired immune deficiency syndrome in HIV-seropositive homosexual men". J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr. 6 (8): 949–58. PMID 8100273. 
  152. ^ Patrick L (December 1999). "Nutrients and HIV: part one -- beta carotene and selenium" (PDF). Altern Med Rev 4 (6): 403–13. PMID 10608913. http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/4/6/403.pdf. Retrieved on 25 August 2008. 
  153. ^ Lichtenstein BS (1995). "Nutrition and HIV". STEP Perspect 7 (1): 2–5. PMID 11362399. 
  154. ^ RF Cathcart, Vitamin C in the Treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Medical Hypotheses 14:423-433, 1984
  155. ^ Priestly JC. Highly Beneficial Results in the Treatment of AIDS, J Orthomolecular Med, 1991, Vol. 6, No.3 & 4, p174
  156. ^ a b Sarah Boseley Discredited doctor's 'cure' for Aids ignites life-and-death struggle in South Africa The Guardian May 14 2005
    *Smith TC, Novella SP (August 2007). "HIV denial in the Internet era". PLoS Med. 4 (8): e256. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256. PMID 17713982. PMC: 1949841. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1949841. 
    *Apartheid a pharmaceutical plot - Rath Independent Online May 10 2007
  157. ^ Irlam JH, Visser ME, Rollins N, Siegfried N (2005). "Micronutrient supplementation in children and adults with HIV infection". Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD003650. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003650.pub2. PMID 16235333. 
  158. ^ Semba RD, Ndugwa C, Perry RT, et al (January 2005). "Effect of periodic vitamin A supplementation on mortality and morbidity of human immunodeficiency virus-infected children in Uganda: A controlled clinical trial". Nutrition 21 (1): 25–31. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2004.10.004. PMID 15661475. 
  159. ^ Mora JR, Iwata M, von Andrian UH (September 2008). "Vitamin effects on the immune system: vitamins A and D take centre stage". Nat. Rev. Immunol. 8: 685-698. doi:10.1038/nri2378. PMID 18690246. 
  160. ^ Grotto I, Mimouni M, Gdalevich M, Mimouni D (March 2003). "Vitamin A supplementation and childhood morbidity from diarrhea and respiratory infections: a meta-analysis". J. Pediatr. 142 (3): 297–304. doi:10.1067/mpd.2003.116. PMID 12640379. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022347602403666. 
  161. ^ Hoffer A. (1987) Is There a Conspiracy? Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Volume 2 - 3rd Quarter p158
  162. ^ Razzouk, N.; Seitz, V. (2003), "Marketing to the Heart: a Practical Approach to Dealing with Health Care Quackery", Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs 20 (4): 469–478, doi:10.1081/CRP-120026128, http://www.informaworld.com/index/713622947.pdf 
  163. ^ Weitzman S (1998). "Alternative nutritional cancer therapies". Int. J. Cancer Suppl. 11: 69–72. PMID 9876483. 
  164. ^ Gertz MA, Bauer BA (May 2003). "Caring (really) for patients who use alternative therapies for cancer". J. Clin. Oncol. 21 (9 Suppl): 125s–128s. doi:10.1200/JCO.2003.01.195. PMID 12743218. 
  165. ^ Linus Pauling and Matthias Rath An Orthomolecular Theory of Human Health and Disease Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Volume 6, p135
  166. ^ Abram Hoffer The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine: history The Journal of Orthomolecular medicine, Accessed 25 August 2008
  167. ^ A. Hoffer Linus Pauling 1901 - 1994 Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No.3, 1994
  168. ^ Watson J (January 2006). "Scientists, activists sue South Africa's AIDS 'denialists'". Nat. Med. 12 (1): 6. doi:10.1038/nm0106-6a. PMID 16397537. 
  169. ^ TAC hails ruling on Rath Independent Online June 13 2008
  170. ^ John Reed HIV Fight Focuses on Ads Los Angeles Times July 25, 2005
  171. ^ Frei, Balz, LPI Research Newsletter - Spring 2006, Linus Pauling Institute, June ,2006. available online
  172. ^ OMACOR deal signed with new Euro partners, HYDRO, 11 Dec 2001
  173. ^ fibrinolytic activity of nattokinase, Miyazaki Medical College, Japan
  174. ^ Coenzyme Q10, prescribed for CHF in Japan since 1974, AAFP
  175. ^ Kaitin, KI, Brown, J. 1995. A Drug Lag Update. Drug Information Journal 29:361–73
  176. ^ Hoffer, Abram, History, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. available online

Further reading


Support


Criticism

  • Barrett Stephen (1980). The Health Robbers (Second ed ed.). Stickley. pp. 52. 
  • Cassileth Barrie R (1998). Alternative medicine handbook: the complete reference guide to alternative and complementary therapies. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04566-8. 
  • Bender David A (2003). Nutritional Biochemistry of the Vitamins (Second ed ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 230. ISBN 0521803888. 
  • Gratzer Walter (2005). Terrors of the table. Oxford University Press. pp. 210. ISBN 0192806610. 

External links


Support


Criticism



--
AHANAOA A. C.
Lic. Nut. Miguel Leopoldo Alvarado