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Exclusive Interview

Landmark Work on Niacinimide and Arthritis

of William Kaufman, Ph.D., M.D.

by Jonathan Wright, M.D. Nutrition & Healing, August 1997, p.5-6

See: http://www.wrightnewsletter.com/nah/nahindexie.shtml

Welcome Dr. Kaufman.

During my years at the University of

Michigan Medical School, 1965-1969, we heard scarcely a word

about nutr ition, vitamins, and disease treatment. And even though

you were a 1938 graduate of that same Medical school, we heard

nothing about your landmark work on niacinamide and arthritis.

Any speculations about that?

In my medical school years, we were drilled in great de-

tail about vitamin-deficiency disorders during our lectures in

internal medicine, pediatrics, public health, neurology, psychia-

try, and pathology. But after synthetic vitamins became avail-

able to treat florid deficiency diseases, not teaching about nu-

trition and vitamins became a national trend.

I’m not surprised they didn’t refer to my books. The re-

views of my 1943 book were dismissive, because the “experts”

couldn’t believe that the larger amounts of niacinamide I used in

therapy improved joint mobility, muscle strength, maximal

muscle-working capacity, and mental functioning.

Your two books concerning niacinamide treatment contain

absolutely amazing detail about clinical signs and symptoms of the

syndrome you called “aniacinamidosis.” How did you gather all of

this information?

Throughout my twenty-five years of private clinical prac-

tice, I always took two to three hours minimum with each new

patient, and at least an hour and sometimes two hours on subse-

quent visits, according to the needs of the patient. Remember, I

was always extremely interested in psychosomatic medicine, too,

and taking this time was extremely helpful in getting basic in-

formation that could ease psychosomatic difficulty as well as

physical problems.

Not Many doctors spend that amount of time with each pa-

tient, especially with today’s so-called managed care, HMOs,

and all that. You’ve mentioned your direct observations of pa-

tients taking niacinimide. . . .

Yes, as I said, any patient I gave niacinamide had to sit in

my office for at least an hour, so I could observe what happened.

My first observations were made in the days before bread and

other white-flour products were “enriched”...

A misnomer of the first order. . . .

. . . “enriched” with niacin, which eventually turned into

niacinamide, but the “enrichment” used only a few B-vitamins,

and not B

6

or folic acid or chromium or many of the other things

milled out of flour. So I really got a chance to observe the dif-

ference that niacinamide could make, starting from a position

of real deficiency or semi-deficiency.

Tell us about that.

There are many more details in my 1943 book, but let’s cover

a few. Within 2-1/2 to five minutes after taking the first 100

milligrams of niacinamide there was a degree of physical and

mental relaxation which became marked in the next twenty min-

utes. The first objective change, apparent within the first five

minutes, is the relaxation of previously tense muscles, and the

replacement of a drawn facial expression by a more calm one,

or even a smile. Without suggestion, patients began to sit, walk,

and stand more erectly. Within the first five to ten minutes, the

color of the hands and feet might change from a sallow yellow

to a healthy pinkish or ruddy color, and the hands and feet fre-

quently are subjectively and objectively warmer. There are many

more changes detailed in that book.

What got you started studying niacinamide?

Actually I started with niacin. I had read an article in the

AMA Journal which said that niacin was safe, so I took some

and got very sick. After that I decided to concentrate on niaci-

namide, and looked around without success for a local supply.

I couldn’t find any at first, but ultimately I was shipped two

boxes containing 100,000 tablets of niacinamide, 50 milligrams

each, so I had plenty of material.

Your second book, published In 1949, contains carefully made

clnical observations of 455 people treated with niacinamide over

several years each, especially focusing on their joint disease.

I had noticed early on that joints were one of the most

frequently improved areas among patients with aniacinamidosis.

When compulsory “enrichment” of flour occurred in 1943, many

of the more obvious symptoms of aniacinamidosis disappeared

from the general population, but the same joint problems per-

sisted. So in 1944, looking for objective data, I started precise

measurement of the ranges of joint motion of every patient who

had obvious arthritis, at the time of their first examination.

You designed your own instrument. . . .

They’re completely described in my 1949 book. In 1945,

I designed an abbreviated but objective measurement of twenty

joints or joint groups that could be observed and recorded in

five minutes on a special form. I performed this measurement

on all new patients instead of just those with obvious arthritis,

and it quickly became apparent that limitation of joint move-

ment was exceedingly apparent in many individuals without

joint complaints or clinically obvious arthritis. From there, I

went on to design a

“

Joint Range Index” from a weighted nu-

merical average of these twenty measurements.

Your 1949 book reports the very significant improvement in

the Joint Range Index that could be achieved both in individuals

with osteoarthritis and in those with rheumatoid arthritis. . . .

As well as the regression that occurs when individuals stop

their niacinamide therapy. As long as niacinamide is contin-

ued, the improvement

“

holds,” but it can’t be stopped without

ultimate regression. Of course, joint mobility wasn’t the only

improvement, just the one we could precisely measure. Nearly

everyone got at least some pain relief and reduction of swell-

ing. It takes one to three months for maximum effect, but nearly

everyone needed less pain medication, and a significant number

needed none.

I’ve followed your lead in niacinamide therapy for 21 years,

and have observed it to work just as you’ve said. Some joints

respond better than others. . . .

Yes, although they all respond to a degree. The best are

knees, shoulders, and the neck . . . and then wrists and fingers.

How does niacinamide work in helping joints?

Niacinamide has the special capacity of

“

wringing out

”

ex-

cess fluid from cartilage and connective tissue. Niacinamide is

also anti-inflammatory, as demonstrated by reductions in the