Linus Pauling, Ph.D. (1901–1994): From Chemical Bond to Civilization
2017; American Psychiatric Association; Volume: 174; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17010093
ISSN1535-7228
Autores Tópico(s)Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
ResumoBack to table of contents Previous article Next article Images in PsychiatryFull AccessLinus Pauling, Ph.D. (1901–1994): From Chemical Bond to CivilizationKenneth J. Weiss, M.D.Kenneth J. WeissSearch for more papers by this author, M.D.Published Online:1 Jun 2017https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17010093AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail A scientist from Oregon with an insatiably inquisitive and fertile mind, Linus Pauling tried to refocus psychiatry from psychology to chemistry. Mid-20th century theories abounded, especially about schizophrenia—for example, that methylated catecholamines act as endogenous hallucinogens. Megavitamin therapy with niacin (vitamin B3, a methyl acceptor) was the proposed remedy (1). When Pauling, using examples from this theory, published his findings in Science in 1968 (2), orthomolecular psychiatry was born. Some mental diseases, he argued, were the result of localized cerebral deficiencies of nutrients, not appreciable in the bloodstream or directly measurable. The idea rankled the psychiatric establishment.Pauling’s personal history may shed light on his interest in molecular disease (3). His mother suffered and died from pernicious anemia, cause then unknown. He was plagued by disabling colds, much improved by his use of vitamin C. And he suffered from Bright’s disease (chronic nephritis), battling it with bed rest and severe dietary modifications.His insistence on an orthomolecular approach, coupled with growing popular interest in alternative psychiatry, were dynamics in the creation of the APA task force report Megavitamin and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry in 1973 (4). Pauling’s 1974 rebuttal appeared in the Journal’s new Opinion and Comment section (5), followed by commentaries from Drs. Richard Jed Wyatt, Donald Klein, and Morris Lipton (6–8). They rejected Pauling’s ideas because of his reliance on the flawed methodology of his sources and his resistance to controlled clinical trials.Pauling did not set out to turn psychiatry on its head. His interest in a simple solution to mental illness grew from his work on the nature of chemical bonds, earning him a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954, and on the structure of hemoglobin and its application to understanding sickle cell disease. Whereas the catecholamine-methylation hypothesis of schizophrenia waned, current literature connects DNA methylation to the epigenetics of mental illness (9). Pauling recognized exogenous dynamics in mental illness, but not epigenetics: “Psychoanalysis has failed, and psychiatry is now rapidly returning to the scientific approach, the recognition of the corporeal character of mental illness, with manifestations determined to some extent by environmental stress and past experience” (10, p. vi).Pauling’s contributions to psychiatry must be seen within the context of the broad scope of his aspirations to improve the world. His relentless pursuit of applications of chemistry to general education, medicine, and world peace situate him uniquely among scientists, irrespective of how one regards his psychiatric theories. Pauling believed in finding ways to reduce suffering, as he suggested in a 1960 speech, “The Molecular Theory of Civilization” (11). Using “mutation” as a metaphor for change, he completed the great arc from chemistry to civilization: “We have now to take the next step in the evolution of civilization of humanity—we must achieve the mutation that will bring SANITY to this great organism—the organism that is human kind.”From the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Address correspondence to Dr. Weiss ([email protected]).The author thanks Edward K. Silberman, M.D., for guidance on the manuscript. The photograph was provided by the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis.References1 Lipton MA, Mailman RB, Nemeroff CB: Vitamins, megavitamin therapy, and the nervous system, in Nutrition and the Brain. vol. 3. Edited by Wurtman RJ, Wurtman JJ. New York, Raven Press, 1979, pp 183–264Google Scholar2 Pauling L: Orthomolecular psychiatry. Science 1968; 160:265–271Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar3 Hager T: Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1995Google Scholar4 American Psychiatric Association: Task Force Report 7: Megavitamin and Orthomolecular Therapy in Psychiatry. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1973Google Scholar5 Pauling L: On the orthomolecular environment of the mind: orthomolecular theory. Am J Psychiatry 1974; 131:1251–1257Abstract, Google Scholar6 Wyatt RJ: Comment on L Pauling: On the orthomolecular environment of the mind: orthomolecular theory. Am J Psychiatry 1974; 131:1258–1262Abstract, Google Scholar7 Klein DF: Comment on L Pauling: On the orthomolecular environment of the mind: orthomolecular theory. Am J Psychiatry 1974; 131:1263–1265Abstract, Google Scholar8 Lipton MA: Comment on L Pauling: On the orthomolecular environment of the mind: orthomolecular theory. Am J Psychiatry 1974; 131:1266–1267Abstract, Google Scholar9 Grayson DR, Guidotti A: The dynamics of DNA methylation in schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:138–166Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar10 Pauling L: Preface, in Orthomolecular Psychiatry. Treatment of Schizophrenia. Edited by Hawkins D, Pauling L. San Francisco, WH Freeman, 1973, pp v–ixGoogle Scholar11 Pauling L: The Molecular Theory of Civilization by Linus Pauling. http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/pauling/calendar/1960/10/5.html#1960s2.13.tei.xmlGoogle Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byMonsoon in history and present22 July 2022 | Journal of Palaeosciences, Vol. 71, No. 1Umbrella Topics25 November 2022 Volume 174Issue 6 June 01, 2017Pages 518-519 Metrics KeywordsLinus Paulingorthomolecular psychiatryHistory of PsychiatryThe author thanks Edward K. Silberman, M.D., for guidance on the manuscript. The photograph was provided by the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis.PDF download History Published online 1 June 2017 Published in print 1 June 2017
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