Another Alternative Cancer Treatment Drug

I have been following the blog of another cancer patient, Liz and in one of her postings, she reported of a drug called Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). She has started taking the drug and I am very keen to monitor the progress of her recovery. She has also opened another complementary treatment avenue for me.

I have checked out the resources and it seems that LDN have described beneficial effects on a variety of diseases:

Cancers

Other Dieases

* Bladder Cancer * Breast Cancer * Carcinoid * Colon & Rectal Cancer * Glioblastoma * Liver Cancer * Lung Cancer (Non-Small Cell) * Lymphocytic Leukemia (chronic) * Lymphoma (Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's) * Malignant Melanoma * Multiple Myeloma * Neuroblastoma * Ovarian Cancer * Pancreatic Cancer * Prostate Cancer (untreated) * Renal Cell Carcinoma * Throat Cancer * Uterine Cancer

* ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) * Alzheimer's Disease * Ankylosing Spondylitis * Autism Spectrum Disorders * Behcet's Disease * Celiac Disease * Chronic Fatigue Syndrome * CREST syndrome * Crohn's Disease * Dermatomyositis * Emphysema (COPD) * Endometriosis * Fibromyalgia * HIV/AIDS * Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) * Multiple Sclerosis (MS) * Parkinson's Disease * Pemphigoid * Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) * Psoriasis * Rheumatoid Arthritis * Sarcoidosis * Scleroderma * Sjogren’s Syndrome * Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) * Systemic Lupus (SLE) * Transverse Myelitis * Ulcerative Colitis * Wegener's Granulomatosis

In human cancer, research by Zagon over many years, the increased endorphin and enkephalin levels induced by LDN, work directly on the tumors' opioid receptors — and, perhaps, induce cancer cell death (apoptosis). In addition, it is believed that they act to increase natural killer cells and other healthy immune defenses against cancer.

As of mid-2004, Dr. Bihari reported having treated over 300 patients who had a cancer that had failed to respond to standard treatments. Of that group, some 50%, after four to six months treatment with LDN, began to demonstrate a halt in cancer growth and, of those, over one-third have shown objective signs of tumor shrinkage.

The good news is that LDN can be obtained by prescription, not expensive, approved by FDA (50mg size, though not for cancer treatment) and virtually no side effects (other than having some difficulty sleeping).

The usual adult dosage is 4.5mg taken once daily at night. Because of the rhythms of the body's production of master hormones, LDN is best taken between 9pm and 3am. Most patients take it at bedtime.

Notable exceptions:

• 
  People who have multiple sclerosis that has led to muscle spasms are advised to use only 3mg daily and to maintain that dosage.


• For intial dosage of LDN in those patients who have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with hypothyroidism and who are taking thyroid hormone replacement medication should note the cautionary precautions.

Cautionary warnings:

• Because LDN blocks opioid receptors throughout the body for three or four hours, people using medicine that is an opioid agonist, i.e. narcotic medication — such as Ultram (tramadol), morphine, Percocet, Duragesic patch or codeine-containing medication — should not take LDN until such medicine is completely out of one's system. Patients who have become dependant on daily use of narcotic-containing pain medication may require 10 days to 2 weeks of slowly weaning off of such drugs entirely (while first substituting full doses of non-narcotic pain medications) before being able to begin LDN safely.


• Those patients who are taking thyroid hormone replacement for a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with hypothyroidism ought to begin LDN at the lowest range (1.5mg for an adult). Be aware that LDN may lead to a prompt decrease in the autoimmune disorder, which then may require a rapid reduction in the dose of thyroid hormone replacement in order to avoid symptoms of hyperthyroidism.


• Full-dose naltrexone (50mg) carries a cautionary warning against its use in those with liver disease. This warning was placed because of adverse liver effects that were found in experiments involving 300mg daily. The 50mg dose does not apparently produce impairment of liver function nor, of course, do the much smaller 3mg and 4.5mg doses.


• People who have received organ transplants and who therefore are taking immunosuppressive medication on a permanent basis are cautioned against the use of LDN because it may act to counter the effect of those medications.

Rarely, the naltrexone may need to be purchased as a solution — in distilled water — with 1mg per ml dispensed with a 5ml medicine dropper. If LDN is used in a liquid form, it is important to keep it refrigerated.

The therapeutic dosage range for LDN is from 1.5mg to 4.5mg every night. Dosages below this range are likely to have no effect at all, and dosages above this range are likely to block endorphins for too long a period of time and interfere with its effectiveness.

More detailed information about LDN can be obtained here.