Low Dose Naltrexone: Modern Miracle Drug

By Dudley Delany, R.N., M.A., D.C.


Naltrexone is an inexpensive generic pharmaceutical approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treating opiate and alcohol addiction. In very low doses, it is being found a cost-effective means of treating a wide range of health concerns, including HIV/AIDS, certain types of cancer, and a number of autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. Side effects are usually both mild and transitory.

One small nightly dose of Naltrexone has the effect of temporarily blocking certain opioid receptors. This in turn causes a several-fold increase in endogenous endorphins--the body's "feel good" chemicals. As it turns out, that simple mechanism has profound consequences for one's health and well-being.

This site provides a partial listing of conditions that have responded to Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN):

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-treatable-diseases

In the case of systemic infections such as HIV/AIDS and Lyme disease, LDN boosts the immune system, helping the body fight off the invading pathogens.

In the case of cancers such as multiple myeloma and neuroblastoma, LDN inhibits proliferation of malignant cells.

In the case of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia, LDN takes an aberrant immune system and helps restore it to normalcy.

It is a matter of speculation as to how LDN works to successfully treat neurodegenerative disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

In the early 1980s, Bernard Bihari, M.D., a New York neurologist, noticed that patients with HIV/AIDS who took Naltrexone for heroin addiction did not tend to develop the opportunistic diseases and conditions characteristic of a compromised immune system. He then began experimenting with its use in a wide variety of conditions, and the results were phenomenal.

The Internet abounds with patient testimonials regarding the efficacy of LDN. This site features 100 of them:

http://tinyurl.com/p472ju

The first clinical trial of LDN published in an American medical journal came in 2007 with an article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology by Dr. Jill Smith. Working with a group of Crohn's sufferers, she found that 67% went into remission, and 89% showed at least some improvement. An abstract of the study can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-crohns-study

In September of 2008, the results were published of a six-month, multi-center clinical trial in Italy with multiple sclerosis patients. Again, the results were positive, and the investigators concluded that LDN is both safe and effective. An abstract of the study can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-italian-ms-study

In March of 2006, Burton Berkson, M.D., Ph.D., published an article in Integrative Cancer Therapies describing the successful treatment of an advanced case of pancreatic cancer using oral LDN and intravenous alpha lipoic acid. This site features an abstract of the study:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-pancreatic-cancer-study

In December of 2009, Dr. Berkson published in the same journal the results of using the same combination of oral LDN and intravenous alpha lipoic acid in the successful treatment of three more cases of pancreatic cancer. This site presents an abstract of the study:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-pancreatic-cancer-3-cases

In the May-June, 2009, issue of Pain Medicine, a pilot study was presented in which a group of fibromyalgia sufferers experienced a greater than 30% reduction in painful symptoms when taking LDN. The investigators concluded that LDN "may be an effective, highly tolerable, and inexpensive treatment for fibromyalgia." An article about the study can be read here:

http://health.remedy.org.ua/1a7256c4/

This is an exciting time in the development of LDN, as clinical trials are currently either underway or enrolling participants both in the U.S and abroad as a treatment for fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, and Crohn's disease.

The most frequently reported side effects of LDN are vivid dreams and insomnia. They are usually short lived, however, and can be countered with sleep aids like melatonin. The cost to take LDN at the recommended adult dose of 4.5 mg is about $1.00 a day, a far cry from many pharmaceuticals on the market today. This site discusses LDN side effects and dosing:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-side-effects

This site tells where and how to obtain LDN:

http://tinyurl.com/how-to-obtain-ldn

This site discusses the drugs to avoid when taking LDN:

http://tinyurl.com/drugs-to-avoid-on-ldn

This site features my own personal involvement with LDN and contains many helpful links:

http://tinyurl.com/why-ldn-advocate

It is the opinion of many that LDN is one of the greatest discoveries in modern medicine since the advent of penicillin.

For more information about this remarkable remedy, visit

http://tinyurl.com/intro-to-ldn

Low Dose Naltrexone is an exception to the rule that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.





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