THREE MEMORANDA RE: NICOTINIC ACID WITH ATTACHED MEMOS

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00144761
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 22, 2024
• Document Release Date: January 15, 1983
• Publication Date: January 8, 1952

1
1
��
Chief, Contact Division
for Scientific Branch
Chief, Office
Case
erg,
8 January 1952
A/ 1. As recommended in Case , ve have discussed the uses of
nicotinic acid and its compounds with
13 who is head of the Department of Pharmacology at the
) Medicil School in
was most cooperative and made the following comments
on the subject:
40, 2. The common use of nicotinic acid is as a vitamin; it is used
principally as a preventative for pellagra (a skin affection
with severe constitutional and nervous symptoms) in the southern
part of the US. Its therapeutic action in these cases is in
developing a psychosis and dilating the blood vessels.
Li
3. Since nicotinic acid is a peripheral dilator of blood vessels,
it might also be used in the treatment of frost bite but there
is no published indication that this type of therapy has ever
been developed anywhere.
The staff of the Medical School Pharmacology
Department has done much work on using a combination of nicotinomid
with privine for the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Privine
is a nicotinic acid inhibitor (B 45) and, although very lethal in
animals, is not poisonous for human beings. The nicotinomid-privine
combination produces a shock reaction iihidh does not involve
convulsions. Experiments in this have beeh made an patients at
- Hospital in "- . -----77but are no longer
being carried on because of the lack of funds aad the difficulty
in travel between the medical college laboratories and the hospital.
C:: 5. did not knov of other doctors or laboratories in the
US or abroad who were working with this nicotinomid-privine combina-
tion or other nicotinic acid compounds. He could not recall having
seen any publications on this subject.
6. This office believes that it might be advantageous to discuss
74/sr