http://www.timescolonist.com/Health/Controversial+Victoria+psychiatrist+Abram+Hoffer+dies/1640012/story.html

Controversial Victoria psychiatrist Abram Hoffer dies at age 91


May 30, 2009

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

More Images » [photos & video at url above]

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.
[...]


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