Glasgow GP Brings First LDN Conference To Europe To Help Raise Awareness Of Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases

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Glasgow GP Brings First LDN Conference To Europe To Help Raise Awareness Of Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases24 Apr 2009

Some of the world's leading medical speakers and practitioners are

flying into Glasgow this week as the first European Low Dose Naltrexone

(LDN) Conference comes to Scotland. Held on Saturday 25th April at the

Western Lecture Theatre at University of Glasgow, the conference will

attract leading medical professionals and patients who are interested

in the use of the drug LDN in the treatment of many different

autoimmune diseases - including multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and

chronic fatigue syndrome or ME.

Dr Steele the resident doctor on the This Morning television

programme and long time supporter of LDN will also attend the

conference.

The conference is being organised by Glasgow nutritional medicine

practitioner Dr Tom Gilhooly of Essential Health Clinic in Rutherglen.

Having worked with heroin addiction patients and using the drug

Naltroxene for over twenty years, Dr Gilhooly found that the lower dose

(LDN) could work across a number of conditions and is now a leading

specialist in the application of LDN for autoimmune diseases.

Dr Gilhooly said: "We are delighted to host the first European

conference on LDN in Glasgow. We have used LDN to treat many different

autoimmune diseases over the past five years and have seen

life-changing results for patients.

"LDN treatment can aid a better quality of life for both long-term

sufferers and those newly diagnosed; I hope that through raising

awareness of LDN many more patients will become aware that this could

be a potential treatment for them."

As one of the only practices administering LDN in the UK, Dr Gilhooly

and his fellow GPs at Essential Health Clinic are hoping to raise the

profile of the drug as well as encouraging other doctors to begin

prescribing. The clinic currently treats 200 people with LDN.

LDN was first discovered in 1981 by Dr Ian Zagon in the USA. Dr Zagon

found that low doses of the drug usually used to treat opiate addiction

such as heroin and alcohol would cause the body to double or triple its

production of endorphins. Endorphins are critical to a well functioning

immune system and by flooding the body with them the immune system can

be restored to its proper state. In addition, the drug is almost

completely non-toxic. It was first used as a treatment for MS in 1985.

The Conference will feature leading speakers including ph Wouk and

Dr Burt Berkson from the USA, Dr Phil Boyle from Ireland and

Elsegood from the LDN Research Trust.

ph Wouk is the son of Pulitzer prize winning novelist Herman Wouk

and author of 'Google LDN'. The book details his story of being told by

doctors at University of California that there was no treatment

available for the progressive part of his Progressive Relapsing

Multiple Sclerosis. Mr Wouk will speak of his experiences at visiting a

Shaman in Peru before his life changed after taking LDN.

As an MS sufferer, Elsegood spent two years bed-bound until

treatment with LDN regained the use of her motor skills. She set up the

charity LDN Research Trust with the view of increasing awareness of the

treatment and raise enough funding for clinical trials of the drug. The

LDN Research Trust now has a database of over 3,000 people taking LDN

in the UK.

said: "We are delighted that Dr Gilhooly and his colleagues have

organised this conference to raise the profile of LDN in the UK and

Europe. It's incredibly important for MS sufferers to realise that

there is a drug out there which can help to support their treatment of

this debilitating condition. I have been taking LDN for over five years

and, for me, the results have been life-changing."

In addition, Dr Phil Boyle from Galway Clinic in Northern Ireland will

speak of the effects of LDN in treating endometriosis and polycystic

ovarian syndrome as well as its efficacy in fertility. Dr Burt Berkson

from the Center for Integrative Medicine in New Mexico will give

examples of his published case studies on the use of LDN in cancer

patients.

Dr Gilhooly plans to build the conference into an annual event acting

as a focus for LDN research and clinical activity in the UK and beyond.

Over 200 people have already registered to attend the conference to

date, coming from as far as Hong Kong, USA and Europe. Members of the

public can attend free of charge if interested in hearing more about

LDN and its effectiveness across many different conditions.

Tickets are still available. For further information and to register for the conference, please visit http://glasgowldn2009.com/

Date and Time

Saturday 25th April 2009 at 10am

The conference is free to attend and refreshments will be provided.

Agenda

10.00 am - Introduction - Dr Tom Gilhooly, Essential Health Clinic Glasgow

10.05 am - LDN Personal experience - Elsegood, LDN Research Trust

10.20 am - LDN Research Summary - Dr Tom Gilhooly

11.00 am - Coffee break

11.30 am - LDN Dispensing in UK - Mr Dickson, Dickson's Pharmacy Glasgow

12.10 pm - LDN treatment in Cancer - Dr Burt Berkson, Center For Integrative Medicine, New Mexico

1.00 pm - Lunch

2.00 pm - Google LDN - Mr ph Wouk - Author

2.40 pm - LDN use in Fertility - Dr Phil Boyle, Fertility Specialist, Galway Clinic

3.10 pm - Coffee break

3.30 pm - LDN in Chronic Fatigue - Eileen Munro - Author

3.50 pm - Future for LDN - Dr Tom Gilhooly

4.00 pm - Plenary session with expert panel

5.00 pm - Close

Source Essential Health Clinic

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