This book seems to be full of formulae for curing mental illnesses. After I finished reading it, I tried to look up "pyroluria" in the Merck Manual and several reputable nutrition books...it wasn't listed. Then I checked the internet and found plenty of listings, but only circular information, as though the writers relied on this book rather than doing original research. Another case of "let the buyer beware"! If you must read this book, try to find it in the library, I wish I had!

Wow, I am amazed at the allure the Brain Bio Center still has after all these years. Its very existence seems to be hotly contested in this forum. Please allow me to settle this question once and for all. My Mom was a patient at the BBC and a former neighbor was an employee. However before I go any further, I should say that despite the "Princeton" attachment, BBC was never affiliated with Princeton University, which has no medical school. It wasn't even within Princeton's city limits; it actually was located in neighboring Montgomery Township (Skillman). But that is not surprising. Entities from churches to multi-million dollar companies who are physically in other municipalities have added "Princeton" to their names and/or rented PO Boxes to obtain a Princeton mailing address just to cash in on the prestige of the Princeton name. This is a very common practice in Central New Jersey. It is all marketing, hype, and horse feathers.

Anyway, the Brain Bio Center has been OUT OF BUSINESS since the early 1990's. Why? Many insurance companies labeled BBC's methods "alternative" (read: questionable) and therefore refused to cover them. Most folks could ill afford to pay cash. BBC just couldn't survive. Carl Pfeiffer died in 1988, and his cohorts have since opened an institute in his name (also in Skillman) that carries on his work.

I am not particularly interested in debating the merits or demerits of Orthomolecular Medicine. But I cannot refrain from one observation. The prevailing attitude regarding mental illness here appears to be "take a pill (or vitamin) and that will fix everything." Any mental health professional of worth would say that is a dangerous belief. Mental illness is much more complicated than that and requires more than simple chemical treatment. Been there, done that. Don't forget too that all kind of nutty treatments for mental illness and other things have come and gone through the years. Exercise good caution and get multiple opinions before you agree to the treatment of anything.

In any case, don't forget this book is 17 years old--long before Al Gore invented the Internet ;-). We have learned so much about medicine and ourselves since then. Try to look for more up-to- date stuff, for comparison if nothing else.

Therefore, I am giving this book one star, for being as obsolete and irrelevant as my long-discarded Commodore 64.

I did some research on what this reviewer said and found a few things. Reviewers said the Brain Bio Center was supposed to be in Skillman, NJ, but it says on the back of the book it was in Princeton, NJ. Reviewer said it was not listed in the phonebook. It's not likely because it is no more. The Brain Bio Center operator from 1972 until the early 80's. That would also account for there not being a web page for it. Unlike reviewer says, the full name of the institution is not "The Princeton Brain Bio Center". It is just "The Brain Bio Center" and it happened to be in Princeton. Reviewer said it is not associated with Princeton University and neither did the bio claim to be. The bio says "it is sponsored by the Schizophrenia Foundation of New Jersey and the New Jersey Mental Health Research and Development Fund".

It seems the reviewer didn't do well enough research. Make sure your research is thorough. Be careful in believing the negative reviews on here. The reviewer lastly says megadoses of vitamins can be dangerous. Dr. Pfeiffer never mentions taking mega doses. He has exact amounts of each nutrient that should be taken.

Dr. Pfeiffer's book was very interesting, but there are some issues that cause me a bit of concern. First, the Brain Bio Center that is supposed to be in Skillman, NJ is not listed in the Skillman phone book. The phone number given in the back of the book got me a recording. They don't seem to have a web page. There are only two labs I found on an internet search that do testing for pyroluria, an interesting disorder mentioned in the book. The one in the US is called the Pfeiffer center. The full name of the Brain Bio Center is apparently the "Princeton Brain Bio Center" but is not affiliated with Princeton University, nor is it in Princeton. Most of the credible hits I got on the internet when searching for Pyroluria seemed to quote Dr. Pfeiffer or another doctor who is the head of the Pfeiffer Center. I could not find out how much the testing for pyroluria would cost.

I'm not saying he is a quack, but in one day I found a lot of things that just didn't add up. Be careful before believing too much of what's in the book or investing too much money into this, and remember that megadoses of vitamins can be dangerous.