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| LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone |
Last updated: May 12, 2008 |
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LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone |
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 LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone can help with the following: | |  | | | | Addictions |  Alcoholism Recovery |
Aging |
 Parkinson's Disease / Risk | According to Dr. Bihari, LDN clearly halts progression in multiple sclerosis. As such its use has been more recently extended to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) whose etiology remains unknown but for which there is suggestive evidence of a possible autoimmune mechanism. |
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Autoimmune |
Multiple Sclerosis / Risk| | According to Dr. Bihari, LDN clearly halts the progression of multiple sclerosis. |
Ulcerative Colitis
Crohn's Disease| | As of September 2002, Dr. Bihari was following eight patients with Crohn's Disease on LDN. In all eight cases, within 14-21 days the signs and symptoms of disease activity stopped. All eight had remained stable since anywhere from 2 months to 36 months. |
Lupus, SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythromatosis)
Sarcoidosis
Periarteritis
Autoimmune Tendency| | The experience of people who have autoimmune diseases and who have begun LDN treatment has been remarkable, according to Dr. Bihari. Patients with diagnoses such as systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Behcet's syndrome, Wegener's granulomatosis, bullous pemphigoid, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease have all benefited. |
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)| | According to Dr. Bihari, LDN clearly halts progression in multiple sclerosis. As such its use has been more recently extended to other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) whose etiology remains unknown but for which there is suggestive evidence of a possible autoimmune mechanism. |
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Immunity |
AIDS / Risk| | Since the mid-1980's, low dose naltrexone (LDN) has consistently demonstrated a markedly beneficial effect in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. There are a score of such patients who, even today, continue to successfully use only LDN. When combined with HAART, LDN has shown itself to be an absolute preventive for lipodystrophy, as well as a synergistic therapy that diminishes viral breakthroughs and bolsters the restoration of CD4 cell levels. |
Chronic Fatigue / Fibromyalgia Syndrome| | According to Dr. Bahari, people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome have had marked improvement using LDN, suggesting that these entities probably have an important autoimmune dynamic as well. Many have reported improvement - some noticing an immediate difference and others only after a prolonged period of use. |
Immune System Imbalance (TH2 Dominance)| | Low doses of Naltrexone can help reduce TH2 cytokines to assist in balancing the immune system.
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Musculo-Skeletal |
Rheumatoid Arthritis| | Ten patients with this disease have been treated with LDN in recent years. In all ten patients the joint pain and swelling cleared, in some, leaving residual joint distortion. Two of the patients stopped LDN for several weeks because of travel. Both had an immediate exacerbation. One patient who was responding well on LDN had a mild exacerbation during a period of severe marital stress. |
Polymyositis |
Respiratory |
Asthma |
Risks |
Increased Risk of Colon Cancer
Increased Risk of Pancreatic Cancer| | This report describes the use of alpha-lipoic acid and LDN in a man with pancreatic cancer. It seems likely that such a program would go far in preventing this condition in someone with an elevated risk. [The Long-term Survival of a Patient With Pancreatic Cancer With Metastases to the Liver After Treatment With the Intravenous alpha-Lipoic Acid/Low - Dose Naltrexone Protocol, Burton M. Berkson, Daniel M. Rubin, and Arthur J. Berkson INTEGRATIVE CANCER THERAPIES 5(1); 2006] Disease progression recurred when stopping the program, and progression stopped again on resumption. |
Increased Risk of Prostate Cancer
Increased Risk of Lymphoma
Increased Risk of Leukemia
Increased Risk of Rectal Cancer
Increased Risk of Lung Cancer| | Although lung cancer tissue is low in opiod receptors and thus not so likely to respond to LDN, there may be benefit due to LDN's abililty to increase natural killer cell function. |
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Skin-Hair-Nails |
Eczema
Psoriasis| | One party reported: "Although the response to low-dose naltrexone (LDN) may sometimes be slower in psoriasis than some other auto-immune conditions, it is effective in the long-term and, once the response is firmly established, it will remain stable as long as the treatment is continued.". |
Pemphigoid| | Dr. Bihari has had the opportunity to treat one patient with pemphigoid. An 82-year-old woman, over a period of three months, developed blisters on her ankles, the soles of her feet, her arms and her neck, which on biopsy proved to be pemphigoid. She was referred to a dermatologist specializing in this disease who treated her with prednisone 40 mg/day, which slowed disease progression but did not clear her blisters. When LDN was added, her blisters cleared and slowly healed over a 6-week period, during which time she slowly tapered her prednisone. On her last visit, she was on both LDN each night and prednisone 5mg every other day with no exacerbation. |
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Tumors, Malignant |
 Leukemia, Chronic Lymphocytic (CLL)| | CLL is one of the cancers that may respond to LDN. |
Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Multiple Myeloma
Prostate Cancer| | Dr. Bihari, MD has recently found that the treatment does not seem to work for prostate cancer patients who have received or are receiving some form of hormone manipulation treatment prior to starting the low dose naltrexone. This includes patients who have received Lupron, Casodex, Eulexin, DES, or other drugs designed to reduce testosterone. In addition, patients who have been treated with PC Spes, the herbal preparation with estrogenic effects, also do not seem to respond. |
Colon Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer| | The use of alpha-lipoic acid and LDN stopped the progression of pancreatic cancer in one man who adhered to a rather simple program. [The Long-term Survival of a Patient With Pancreatic Cancer With Metastases to the Liver After Treatment With the Intravenous alpha-Lipoic Acid/Low - Dose Naltrexone Protocol, Burton M. Berkson, Daniel M. Rubin, and Arthur J. Berkson INTEGRATIVE CANCER THERAPIES 5(1); 2006] Disease progression recurred when stopping the program, and progression stopped again on resumption. |
Rectal Cancer
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Carcinoid Cancer
Small Intestine Cancer
Brain Cancer| | The presence of opioid receptors on tumor cells is considered necessary for low dose naltrexone to be beneficial. Glioblastomas and astrocytomas were thought to be low in these receptors, but this assumption has turned out to be inaccurate. These tumor types contain sizable numbers of opioid receptors on their cell membranes. |
Ovarian Cancer| | Dr. Bihari reports some success using LDN on ovarian cancers. |
Breast Cancer| | A few women with breast cancer have responded favorably to LDN alone. LDN needs to be studied further, but until that time, it appears to be safe, inexpensive, and possibly very helpful. |
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KEY | | May do some good | | | Likely to help | | | Highly recommended |
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