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SUBJECT : Use of a Chemical Compound

A 1. About a month ago, asked me if we: could givè him. any information on nicotinic acid. We have made a number of discreet inquiries and have turned up information as noted herein. This information comes from one of the most prominent pharmacologists in the United States. We are making further inquiries of sources recomended ty the individual who provided this information. One scurce in particular is reported to be doing research in nicotinic acid and we may obtain even more-useful information.

2. The information provided is as follows:

The common use of nicotinic acid is as a vitamin; it is used principally as a preventative for pellagra (a skin affection.vith severe constitutionel and nervous syrptons) in the southern part of the US. Its therapeutic action in these cases is in developing a psychosis and dilating the blood vessels.

Since nicotinic acid is a perinheral dilator of blood . vessels, it right, also be used in the treatment of frost bite but there is no published indication that this type of therapy has"ever been develcped amywhere.

His staff has done much work on using a combination of nicotinomid with privine for the treatment of schizophrenic patients. Privine is a nicotinic acid inhibitor (3 L5) and, although very lethal in animals, is not poisonous for human boings. The nicotinomid-privine combination produces a shock reaction which doos not :involve convulsions. Experiments in this have been made on patients at a nearby but are no longer being.cerried on because of the lack of funds and the difficulty in travel cetween the laboratories an.the hospital.

The source did not know of other doctors or laboratories in the US or abroad who were working with this nicotinomidprivine combination or other nicotinic acid ccmpounds. He could not recall having seen any publications on this sutject.

A.B.I,64.21

15 January 1952