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Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
https://ldnresearchtrust.org/what-is-low-dose-naltrexone-ldnHi B. & Daniel,
I last met my gastroenterologist on November 16th who prescribed me the above medicine as a prokinetic. After looking it up, it appears to be used as an anti inflammatory or an opioid. It appears to be more than just a prokinetic.
Is there an alternative natural form to this
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1 Reply
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Hi @Naveed Aslam – low dose naltrexone is becoming quite popular for those with autoimmunity.
The full dose naltrexone was originally used to treat addiction to alcohol and narcotics because it blocks the binding of drugs like heroin to opioid hormones, so that these drugs don’t produce a high. But this treatment was not sustainable long term.
In the mid-1980s, Dr. Bihari who worked with cancer and HIV/AIDS patients, found that low dose naltrexone between 3mg and 4.5mg had positive immunomodulatory effects (i.e. it helps regulate or adjust the way the immune system works).
At this lower dose, the body ‘senses’ low levels of opiates (endorphins) and as a way to compensate, it upregulates its own production of endorphins called beta-endorphin and metenkephalin which relieve anxiety, fear, pain, and help the body cope with acute stress.
These endorphins are usually low in those with autoimmune disease, which is why it’s a promising part of the treatment for autoimmunity. It’s improving an interim cause – not the true root causes – but may be the best option for some patients, especially with unstable autoimmune dynamics, while they are also working on those true root causes.
Beta-endorphins not only provide analgesic (anti-pain) and anti-inflammatory properties, but its levels are inversely related to biomarkers of inflammation as well. In other words, the more beta-endorphin, the lower the levels of parameters such as ESR and rheumatoid factor (Rf) which are closely tied to inflammation.
Here are other benefits of LDN:
Decreases Th1 cells and increases Th2 cells
Decreases NFkB 2 pathway activity
Decreases inflammatory factors and cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, iNOS
Decreases tissue degrading factors such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)
Dampens activation of microglial cells, a type of inflammatory immune cell in the brain implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity.
Modulates Toll-like receptors (TLRs), part of the innate immune system that is dysregulated in autoimmunity, which effectively mitigates inflammatory processes.
It has an excellent safety profile and although more studies are needed, doctors use it off-label for virtually all autoimmune conditions, autism, and to help normalize immune function in HIV/AIDS and cancer.
Of course, as with any medication, there are side-effects and the most common ones are: insomnia/sleep disturbances, upset stomach, headache, mood changes.
And like anything else, it does not work for all. Most studies I have seen show significant impact in ~1/3 who use it.
Now to answer your question about a natural form, Moducare is probably the closest thing out there for immune modulation, and has a lot of research behind it for immune management.
And although it’s discontinued by Thorne, they have a better write-up about it here:
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