FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, April 3, 2025

OMNS Memorial Tribute
Dr. Kilmer S. McCully (1933-2025): Pioneer of the Homocysteine Theory and Champion of Nutritional Cardiology

Commentary by Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.

It is with deep respect and heartfelt gratitude that we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Kilmer S. McCully, a courageous scientist, visionary pathologist, and unsung hero of orthomolecular medicine. Dr. McCully passed away on February 21, 2025, at the age of 91, after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Dr. McCully is best known for his groundbreaking work that linked elevated homocysteine levels-caused by deficiencies in B vitamins (B6, B12, and folate)-to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. At a time when the medical world was fixated on cholesterol as the singular villain, Dr. McCully had the intellectual courage to propose a new and profoundly important theory. His research, rooted in sound biochemistry and pathology, identified homocysteine as an overlooked but powerful contributor to vascular injury, long before it became widely acknowledged.

His 1969 paper in The American Journal of Pathology described children with homocystinuria-a rare genetic disorder-who died young of advanced atherosclerosis, despite having little to no cholesterol in their arterial plaque. His follow-up experiments, injecting rabbits with homocysteine, confirmed the vascular damage. These early insights became the basis for what would be known as the homocysteine theory of heart disease.

Dr. McCully's ideas were revolutionary-and deeply unwelcome. Despite impeccable credentials from Harvard Medical School, his insistence on exploring nutritional and biochemical roots of heart disease led to his dismissal from Harvard and years of professional exile. Yet, like so many great thinkers, he refused to abandon the truth.

In this, he shared the spirit of Dr. Linus Pauling, the founder of orthomolecular medicine and two-time Nobel laureate, who strongly supported McCully's homocysteine work in the 1990s. Pauling recognized that vitamin deficiencies are not minor issues-they are fundamental biochemical errors with grave consequences. Pauling's collaboration with Dr. Matthias Rath built on McCully's findings, highlighting the synergy between homocysteine, vitamin C, and vascular collagen.

Similarly, Dr. Abram Hoffer, co-founder of the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM), advocated for the use of B vitamins in treating both mental and physical illness. He, like McCully, suffered professional backlash but stood firm on the principle that "nutrients are the primary tools of medicine."

Dr. McCully's views were vindicated in the 1990s, when the Framingham Heart Study and other long-term research confirmed that high homocysteine levels significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Still, mainstream medicine was slow to respond, in part due to its continued allegiance to statin drugs and the cholesterol narrative. Yet among the orthomolecular and functional medicine communities, McCully's work became foundational.

His book The Homocysteine Revolution (1997), and the more accessible The Heart Revolution (1999), co-authored with his daughter Martha McCully, brought these life-saving insights to the public. He recommended daily intake of folate, B6, and B12-nutrients that remain cornerstone tools in orthomolecular prevention and therapy for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

At a Harvard Medical School reunion in 1999, his classmates presented him with a silver platter, engraved:

"To Kim McCully, who saw the truth before the rest of us, indeed before the rest of medicine, and who would not be turned aside."

At the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, we remember Dr. Kilmer McCully not only for his intellectual brilliance, but for his moral courage. Like Pauling and Hoffer before him, he stood up for scientific integrity against institutional resistance. He placed truth and patient care above personal gain or academic prestige. In so doing, he became a true orthomolecular hero-whether or not he ever claimed the title.

As medicine continues to evolve, Dr. McCully's legacy will only grow in importance. His work reminds us that disease begins at the molecular level-and so must healing.

Rest in peace, Dr. McCully. Your courage continues to inspire generations of physicians and scientists who believe that nutrition is not alternative-it is essential.

About the author:

Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., is an international health consultant specializing in integrative orthomolecular medicine for complex and difficult conditions-especially atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), cancer, autoimmune diseases, and anti-aging. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service and a leading advocate of low-carb nutrition, high-dose nutrient therapy, and personalized, root-cause medicine.

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