What's this "LDN" everyone is talking about?
By Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D.,
About.com Created: April 15, 2009
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Low dose naltrexone (known to its friends as LDN) could be a huge, untapped solution for millions of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, some doctors are afraid that it could be, for lack of a better term, “snake oil.” The problem is that no one has really done a big, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase III type study using LDN, so we continue to lack the kind of “evidence” that physicians need to prescribe it and drug companies need to make it (currently it is only available from a compounding pharmacy). However, there is plenty of “buzz” around LDN in the MS community. With a fervor that I have not seen around ANY other drug (except maybe medical marijuana), lots of people with MS are saying, “Hey! This stuff WORKS!”
Naltrexone is an opiate agonist, and at the usual dosage of 50 to 100 mg, is used to help people stop abusing alcohol or narcotics (opioid drugs). It works by decreasing the cravings for these substances, primarily by blocking the opiate receptors. LDN refers to the “off-label” use of naltrexone at a fraction of the usual dose.
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What's this "LDN" everyone is talking about?
By Julie Stachowiak, Ph.D., About.comCreated: April 15, 2009
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Low dose naltrexone (known to its friends as LDN) could be a huge, untapped solution for millions of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, some doctors are afraid that it could be, for lack of a better term, “snake oil.” The problem is that no one has really done a big, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase III type study using LDN, so we continue to lack the kind of “evidence” that physicians need to prescribe it and drug companies need to make it (currently it is only available from a compounding pharmacy).
However, there is plenty of “buzz” around LDN in the MS community. With a fervor that I have not seen around ANY other drug (except maybe medical marijuana), lots of people with MS are saying, “Hey! This stuff WORKS!”
Naltrexone is an opiate agonist, and at the usual dosage of 50 to 100 mg, is used to help people stop abusing alcohol or narcotics (opioid drugs). It works by decreasing the cravings for these substances, primarily by blocking the opiate receptors. LDN refers to the “off-label” use of naltrexone at a fraction of the usual dose.
» Read More
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