Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine (JOM), first published in 1967, provides a source for publication of studies in nutritional and orthomolecular medicine. There is controversy surrounding the journal, as the validity of the field of orthomolecular medicine is not widely accepted by the mainstream medical community.^{[citation needed]} As of January 2007, the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine was not included among journals selected by the U.S. National Library of Medicine for inclusion in their Medline database.^[1][2]

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History

In 1967, physicians interested in megavitamin therapy started to generate their own medical journals. Dr. Abram Hoffer had previously published about 150 articles and books, but found it increasingly difficult to publish reports on nutrition and medicine. Hoffer claims that the orthomolecular medicine content was not acceptable to mainstream medical journals because of the clash with the APA over orthomolecular psychiatry and what Hoffer alleges to be extended conflicts of interest on the part of the APA.^[3][4]

The Journal of Schizophrenia followed the formation of the Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation and the American Schizophrenia Association in the United States. Hoffer and Dr. Humphry Osmond, who developed the theory that schizophrenics suffer due to endogenous production of an adrenalin-based hallucinogen, were called before the Committee of Ethics of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to explain why they were publicizing a treatment, called xenobiotic psychiatry by Dr. Bernard Rimland, which was considered outside of standard psychiatric practice.^[5] Hoffer claims that one of the assistant editors of the APA's American Journal of Psychiatry announced that he would never allow any article from the orthomolecular medicine group to appear in his journal.

"After 1968, the name was changed to Schizophrenia, and from 1971 the name was again changed to Orthomolecular Psychiatry to reflect the increased scope of this type of therapy to other mental illnesses. In 1986 the publication underwent a final change to the more inclusive Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine and is presently published as such today."^[6]

Current status

Though repeated applications have been made, the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine has not been indexed by MEDLINE, a database of biomedical literature. Journals are selected for MEDLINE by the National Library of Medicine, which uses criteria including scope and coverage, quality of content, quality of editorial work, intended audience, quality of the layout, printing, graphics, and illustrations.^[7] However, exclusion from MEDLINE has been interpreted by those associated with JOM as confirmation of an alleged bias ^[8] against orthomolecular medicine.^[9]

Notes

See also

• Orthomolecular medicine
• Orthomolecular psychiatry
• Abram Hoffer