Re: Naltrexone (long)

[Guest guest]

Steve,

I haven't added Naltrexone to my regime yet. Don't know how fast it " kicks

in. " A friend of mine had been on it for a while when she wrote this for our

local ME/Fm newsletter.

Don't know how accurate this is, but do know there's some material to be

found on the web, if you search for " low dose Naltrexone. "

Crandall

*****

Naltrexone

by Fran Alberts

January 2001

Naltrexone was approved by the FDA in 1984 in a 50mg dose for the purpose of

helping heroin or opium addicts, by blocking the effect of such drugs. By

blocking opioid receptors, naltrexone also blocks the reception of the

opioid hormones that our brain and adrenal glands produce: beta-endorphin

and metenkaphalin. Many body tissues have receptors for endorphins and

ekaphalins, including virtually every cell of the body's immune system.

In 1985, Bernard Bihari, MD, a physician with a clinical practice in New

York City, discovered the effects of a much smaller dose of naltrexone

(approximately 3mg once a day) on the body's immune system. He found that

this low dose, taken at bedtime, was able to enhance a patient's response to

infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

As of March 2000, Dr. Bihari has been treating 155 AIDS patients using LDN

in conjunction with accepted AIDS therapies. Over the past 4 years over 85%

of these patients showed no detectable levels of the HIV virus--a much

higher success rate than most current AIDS treatments, and with no

significant side effects. It is also worth noting that many HIV/AIDS

patients under Dr. Bihari's care have been living symptom-free for years

taking only LDN with no other medications.

The theory of naltrexone is based on endorphins. Endorphins, produced by the

pituitary gland, could be described as the body's natural opiates. The

endorphin system--the endorphins themselves, and the opiate receptor sites

in cells, which is where they act--help the body respond to stress.

Endorphins are responsible for the " runner's high " , the good feeling people

get after exercise.

In the last several years, immunologists have also discovered that

endorphins are a major link in communication between the brain and the

immune system. Every cell in the immune system--T cells, B-cells, platelets,

etc.--has opiate receptors, that respond to endorphins.

Unlike most other immune modulators, which only effect one or two parts of

the immune system, endorphins seem to be a natural up-regulator of the whole

system, and probably a normal means by which the system heals itself.

Naltrexone temporarily blocks the opiate receptors which are part of the

endorphin system. But at the same time, it increases the amount of

endorphins, and also the number and sensitivity of receptors. Both these

effects increase the overall activity of the endorphin system.

The blocking effect of the low naltrexone dose wears off within several

hours, but the up-regulation of the endorphin system works even during the

blocking period, and then lasts throughout the day. The naltexone must be

taken at night as the pituitary produces most endorphins in the early

morning.

The usual adult dosage is 3mg taken once daily at night. Because of the

rhythms of the body's production of master hormones, LDN is best taken

between 9pm and 3 am. Most patients take it at bedtime. It is important not

to take the slow release form of Naltrexone. Unless the low dose of the

naltrexone is an unaltered form, which permits it to reach a prompt " spike "

in the system, its therapeutic effects may be inhibited.

LDN has virtually no side effects. Occasionally, during the first week's use

of LDN, patients may complain of some difficulty sleeping. This rarely

persists after the first week. Should it do so, dosage can be reduced to 2

mg nightly.

Because LDN blocks opiod receptors throughout the body for several hours,

people using medicine that is an opioid agonist, i.e. narcotic

medication--such as Ultram or morphine or codeine-containing

medication--should not take LDN until such medicine is completely out of

one's system. In addition, LDN should probably not be taken during

pregnancy.