Benefits of Low-Dose Naltrexone: This wonder drug offers incredible promise in benefiting many patients, says Dr. Paul Stallone

Low-dose Naltrexone (LDN) has patients, doctors, websites, bloggers and advocates very excited about the possibilities this drug has and has shown over the last few decades. It is useful and able to help cancer, autoimmune, neurodegenerative and HIV patients. This same wonder drug may also help major conditions like Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s and Hashimoto’s. Wheelchair-bound patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have testified being able to walk again after treatment. It doesn’t have extreme side effects and usually costs less than $50 a month.

Naltrexone, in a much higher dose of 50 mg, was approved by the FDA in 1984 to help heroin and opium addicts. At that dose, it made patients feel terrible. In 1985, Dr. Bernard Bihari, who eventually used a much lower dose of 1.75 mg to 4.5 mg, noticed his HIV patients experiencing significant improved health. While his LDN research began with treating HIV patients, he found success with his patients with cancer, as well. He documented more than 450 cancer patients, and according to his research, about 60 percent showed disease stability, and almost a quarter of these patients experienced a 75 percent reduction in tumor size.

The success Bihari experienced with his patients lead him into treating and documenting patients with autoimmune diseases like Parkinson's, autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's, hereditary spastic paraparesis, ALS and MS. According to his research, which included additional diseases, all patients responded to LDN treatment. Out of the 400 MS patients that were under his care, less than 1 percent reported an attack while maintaining their treatment with LDN.

The reason cancer and so many conditions respond to LDN is that they all have one thing in common: low blood levels of endorphins, which do a lot more than help our mood. Studies have been showing for years that endorphins actually help regulate the immune system, pain relief, cell growth and angiogenesis. The immune system is able to synchronize because the many cells that make it up have receptors that are needed for communication (the cells need to be told what to do), and endorphins tell receptors what function the cell needs to carry out.

Without endorphins, the immune system may malfunction. LDN may balance or increase the body’s production of endorphins, thereby restoring the immune system. Better endorphin production is achieved by taking LDN at bedtime, which for a short period blocks receptors, something that then triggers the increase in endorphins. According to Bihari’s research, endorphin production could go up by 200 to 300 percent. LDN doesn’t just work on the receptors of immune cells. It has been observed working on tumor cell receptors and possibly inducing apoptosis (cell death). This is extremely promising, because research has found receptors in numerous cancer cells where apoptosis is crucial.

LDN, coupled with a multifaceted approach, can aid those patients that have stopped responding to conventional treatment. While this drug may have the capability to save lives, it should only be used under the direction of a knowledgeable physician, because it can actually work too fast in reversing diseases like Hashimoto’s. While drugs are rarely recommended by naturopathic physicians, LDN shows incredible promise and thousands of patients have benefited from it.

Paul Stallone, NMD, founded the Arizona Integrative Medical Center, located at 8144 E. Cactus Rd., Ste. 820, in Scottsdale. He combines natural/alternative/conventional treatments to best fit and benefit each individual patient’s needs. For more information, call 480-214-3922 or visit DrStallone.com.