Abram Hoffer was a medical doctor and psychiatrist who was paid by the Canadian government to direct a hospital where there's a high degree of alcoholism in patients. His finding were that niacin would over time reduce the anxiety causing the alcoholism with the surprising and beneficial, unintended side-effect that it lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol.

Niacin, along with vitamin c and citric acid are the 3 chemicals the body needs to make all energy; but are the 3 that are not produced in the human body (the other 8 are) that are the precursors for the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ADP), which is the currency of energy in the human organism.

To put it another way, every scrap of energy in your body comes from a chemical reaction called the KREBS cycle of the Citric Acid Cycle, which uses 11 chemicals to make one molecule of ADP.
8 of these are synthesized by the body, 3 are not and we must eat them.
Citric acid and vitamin C are fairly easily obtained by diet, while niacin is not as easily obtained.

A deficiency of niacin is called pellagra and is a serious disease. Subclinical pellagra manifests itself as thought disturbances, even though the other symptoms of pellagra may not be present.

Pellagra is characterized by "the four Ds" Dementia, dermatitis, diarrhea, death. People in the early stages, or with subclinical pellagra, will experience a form of dementia, which is commonly seen in seniors, all for the lack of a few vitamin pills. The nature of the thought disturbance in younger patients is what we call schizophrenia/bipolar. Dr Hoffer proved the body chemistry of these people produces too much adrenaline, which oxidizes, and oxidized adrenaline mimics the behaviour of LSD perfectly. Dr Hoffer's therapy was simply to take large doses of niacin which controlled the amount of adrenaline, and large amounts of vitamin C which controlled the oxidation, and the results were quite spectacular, for example one patient went on to become an MD. Prior to Dr Hoffer he was incapable of doing anything.

It should be noted commercial pushback against Dr Hoffer's work is abundant and disingenuous, but this is to be expected when a trillion dollar industry is threatened.
Developed protocols for: anxiety, depression, alcoholism, acne, suicidal tendencies. Also detailed maintenance protocol detailed here in "Vitamins Hoffer Took": yhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=523939858015347 Details:
Here is video clip of Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD describing what he took in the way of vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements.
Dr. Hoffer lived to be 91-years-old (November 11, 1917 – May 27, 2009).
Dr. Hoffer discovered that niacin raises HDL levels. He also discovered that large doses of niacin can often cure schizophrenia.
Nobel Prize-winning chemist, Linus Pauling, PhD, coined the term orthomolecular medicine after meeting and working with Dr. Hoffer. Here is what Dr. Hoffer said he was taking in 2008:

B-100 Complex
one capsule per day—contains all the B-vitamins
Selenium
600 mcg per day
Niacin
4500 mg per day, taken as 1500 mg, 3 times per day
Vitamin C
2000 mg per day, taken as 1000 mg, 2 times per day
Vitamin A
30,000 IU’s per day
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)
3000 mg per day, taken as 1,000 mg, 3 times per day, it increases a naturally-occurring antioxidant in the body called glutathione
Coenzyme Q10, (CoQ10)
300 mg per day, taken as 100 mg, 3 times per day

Vitamin D, 6,000 IU per day

Salmon Oil (Fish Oil) 2000mg per day

Calcium and Magnesium
666mg Calcium, 222 mg Magnesium per day

Zinc, 50 mg per day

Folic Acid, 5000 mcg per day

Vitamin E, 800 mg per day

Alpha Lipoic Acid, 600 mg per day
R-Lipoic is a more potent form