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hi nick, i don't believe this subject has come up too often on this list. i did approach my husband's doctor concerning a prescription and had the pills sent in from ny. he has not tried them yet, too many problems with his dbs. if he should take them in the future i will report back. rgds trauti btw, after checking with my pharmacist i feel at the low-level dosage it is definitely worth a try ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nick" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 2:25 AM Subject: Low Dose Naltrexone >I sent this 2 days ago and got no response. What's the deal? Is it not >good, LDN? > Nick > > Is anyone in Southern CA taking LDN? I haven't been able to find an MD, > yet, who will prescribe LDN for PD. Would like to talk to anyone in CA > who is taking LDN. > > Nick > Caregiver for Oanh, 15 yrs pd > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Old drug, new use? Naltrexone in tiny doses shows promise in treating > many diseases. > > Mail Tribune March 10, 2008 <!--6:00 AM--> > > When Destiny Marquez finds a good thing, she wants other people to know > about it. > > These days the Medford woman has been talking to anyone who will listen > about a drug called naltrexone. It's been widely used to treat opiate > addiction, but that's not what captured her interest. > > Marquez came across naltrexone while she was trying to help her father, > Bentley Lyon, who's been struggling with Parkinson's disease for 18 years. > His symptoms had been increasing, and he started to decline rapidly after > suffering a stroke during surgery. > > A friend had told Marquez that she'd heard some Parkinson's patients > were getting relief from their symptoms by taking extremely low doses of > naltrexone, or LDN. Marquez and her mother, Elizabeth, balked. Although > the drug had been tested and approved by the federal Food and Drug > Administration for addiction treatment, it had never been tested for > treating Parkinson's. > > "We said 'No,' " Marquez recalled. > > When Bentley's condition continued to deteriorate, mother and daughter > asked him to give LDN a try. By then they had done some research on their > own, and learned that the drug was gaining favor not only among > Parkinson's patients, but also as a treatment for other diseases, > including multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease. > > Marquez said her father started taking 3 mg a day late in 2004, far less > than the 50 mg that's prescribed for addiction treatment. > > "It was like a miracle," she recalled. > > Marquez said the spasticity in her father's left leg disappeared over > several days, and his caregiver said he stopped complaining about back > pain. > > Speech is difficult for Bentley, 78, a former Marine and marathon runner > who worked as a forester and wrote two mystery novels, but he said LDN > "stopped the progression" of his symptoms. Naltrexone apparently works by > stimulating the body's own immune system, said Dr. Ian Zagon, a professor > of neural and behavioral sciences at Pennsylvania State University. > > "It's very simple," he said, "but it took a while to figure out." > > Zagon said research over the past two decades indicates the body's > immune system is orchestrated by its own naturally produced internal > opioids. Large doses of naltrexone block the body's opioid receptors, > eliminating the high derived from drugs. In extremely small doses, > however, naltrexone seems to block the opioid receptors just long enough > to prompt the body's hormone system to produce more of its own natural > endorphins, which somehow encourages the immune system. > > "We're working with the body's own chemistry," Zagon said. "This has > nothing to do with chemotherapy." > > The drug's off-label use began to grow just as the Internet became a > major source of information exchange. There's now an LDN home page > (www.lowdosenaltrexone.org), a Wikipedia entry, and forum pages where > people exchange information and their own experiences with the drug. > > Naltrexone's efficacy for Parkinson's or other autoimmune diseases could > be established by subjecting it to a new round of clinical trials, the > same rigorous, expensive, time-consuming studies that were performed when > it was approved for addiction treatment. Unfortunately, there's little > incentive for drug manufacturers to spend the money. Naltrexone has gone > generic, and lost the patent protections that would make it a profitable > drug for treating autoimmune diseases. > > "It doesn't behoove the pharmaceutical companies to develop it," Zagon > said. > > As a generic drug, it's also incredibly cheap. Most patients can get it > for about $1 a day. > > Zagon would like to see someone provide the funding for new clinical > trials for LDN, but in the meantime, some studies are already under way. > The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has funded a study that will look > at high- and low-dose naltrexone treatments in mice with a disease much > like multiple sclerosis, and the National Institutes of Health has funded > a phase II trial using LDN in patients with Crohn's disease. Phase II > trials involve as many as several hundred people, but they fall short of > the randomized phase III trials in which some people get the drug and > others do not. > > Marquez has seen how the drug has helped her father, and she hopes one > day someone will do the research that will determine its efficacy. > "We're not the only family talking about this," she said. "We're trying > to share this information because it buys you time. > > "We've got to tell the world this drug is incredible." > > Naltrexone is not suitable for all patients, even in extremely low > doses, said Dr. Ian Zagon, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. > People with liver problems, for example, should not take naltrexone, and > there are other caveats. > > "People (who are considering naltrexone) should be under a physician's > care," he stressed. > > If a physician rejects a request for low-dose naltrexone, the patient > may want to look for another physician who may be more aware of new > research, Zagon said. > > Destiny Marquez can be reached by e-mail at: [log in to unmask] > Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492 or e-mail: > [log in to unmask] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn