LDN Website Update - May 31, 2008

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LDN Website Update - May 31, 2008

www.low dose naltrexone.org / www.ldninfo.org

Latest News as of May 2008:

Outline of Double-Blind Trial of LDN in MS Presented at AAN

Dr. Bruce Cree and colleagues of the University of California at San Francisco

delivered a

poster presentation summary of their recently completed trial to the American

Academy of

Neurology (AAN) conference in April 2008 in Chicago. Eighty patients with MS

were

involved in this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Each

subject

received either LDN or a placebo for 8 weeks, followed by one week without

either, and

then a further 8 weeks on the alternate. The effects of LDN on quality of life

was measured

using the multiple sclerosis quality of life inventory. During the study's time

period, LDN

was able to show significant benefit for mental health outcome measures but not

for

physical outcomes. [Ed. Note: For details of the data we must await scheduled

publication

in a medical journal.]

Italian Researchers Present 6-Month Pilot Study of LDN for PPMS

Dr. Maira Gironi and her colleagues of Milan, Italy presented a poster summary

of their 6-

month study of LDN for Primary Progressive MS to the AAN conference in Chicago

in April.

This open label study used a 4mg dosage of LDN in 40 patients. There were 5

dropouts,

most of which appeared unrelated to the drug. Endorphin levels were measured at

intervals and were seen to gradually increase throughout. This correlated with a

general

trend of improvement in a number of efficacy measures. Significant improvements

were

seen by the study's conclusion in both fatigue and depression. [Ed. Note:

Detailed data

availability awaits scheduled publication in a medical journal.]

Crohn's Disease Trial at Penn State Seeks More Volunteers

As of early May, Dr. Jill , Professor of Gastroenterology at Hershey

Medical Center

(Pennsylvania State University), was still actively seeking more people with

Crohn's disease

in order to complete her ongoing Phase II research study, which has received

strong

funding from the National Institutes of Health. This effort may be aided by the

recent

video produced by the local Philadelphia ABC TV news station, which highlighted

the LDN

research work of both Dr. and Ian Zagon, PhD (see above). Patients

interested in

volunteering for the research project should contact Bingaman, RN, at

717-531-

8108.

Book of Patients' Stories of LDN Use Planned

Aletha Wittmann, whose husband experienced a dramatic reversal of his symptoms

of MS

with the use of LDN, is planning to collect and publish many detailed short

stories from

LDN users, which will help others understand the actual experiences of those

using the

drug. She explains that " The book will be non-profit, with any proceeds going

towards

further LDN research or trials. " For details on the book and how to contribute,

see Aletha's

letter (http://www.low dose naltrexone.org/_mm/alethabook.pdf).

Marked Increase in Television News Coverage of LDN

Recent weeks have seen several reports produced by major broadcast networks

concerning

low dose naltrexone use:

CBS TV News Broadcast: Naltrexone " May Treat Other Diseases. " Dr. Max Gomez,

award-winning medical journalist for CBS-TV New York, presented a report on LDN

on

May 26. The video included an interview with Ronnie , who has had primary

progressive MS for some 20 years and is now wheelchair bound. She feels that her

use of

LDN for the past year has dispelled her fatigue and restored her mental acuity.

Others

interviewed were Gluck, MD, editor of this website, and Victor Falah, RPh,

the chief

pharmacist of Irmat compounding pharmacy. (See http://tinyurl.com/6x47zl.)

ABC News Reports: LDN a " Wonder Drug? " On May 21, ABC Action News of

Philadelphia reported the story of Pam Sweigart of PA whose debilitating Crohn's

disease

was interfering with her ability to care for her youngsters, until she obtained

relief through

the use of low dose naltrexone. The report also features interviews with two

Penn State

professors: Dr. Jill , author of the first published clinical trial of LDN

in humans, as

well as Dr. Ian Zagon, who for over 20 years has pioneered animal research on

endorphins

as well as on LDN. (See http://tinyurl.com/5lv26n.)

CBS News: " Wonder drug " LDN Could Help Treat Cancer, MS. This story, broadcast

in

February, appeared on CBS 47 (WTEV-TV) of ville, Florida, and features an

interview

with Lori Miles, an MS sufferer who can now walk again, thanks to LDN. Also

quoted in the

piece is Dr. Kantor, neurologist and director of the Comprehensive

Multiple

Sclerosis Program at the Shands ville Neuroscience Institute: " I would

like all of us

to write to our congressmen, ask the FDA and NIH—National Institutes of

Health—to fund

more research about LDN. " (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz52KK5IhOc.)

(Additional changes/updates have been made to the LDN Homepage.)

LDN Website Editors

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