Autoimmune Diseases and Low Dose Naltrexone

What is an autoimmune disease?

An autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. The immune system normally guards against germs like bacteria and viruses. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them. Normally, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your own cells. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. Some autoimmune diseases target only one organ. Type 1 diabetes damages the pancreas. Other diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affect the whole body.

Why does the immune system attack the body?

Doctors don't know exactly what causes the immune-system misfire. Yet some people are more likely to get an autoimmune disease than others.

According to a 2014 study, women get autoimmune diseases at a rate of about 2 to 1 compared to men 6.4 percent of women vs. 2.7 percent of men. Often the disease starts during a woman's childbearing years (ages 15 to 44).

Some autoimmune diseases are more common in certain ethnic groups. For example, lupus affects more African-American and Hispanic people than Caucasians.

Certain autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis and lupus, run in families. Not every family member will necessarily have the same disease, but they inherit a susceptibility to an autoimmune condition.

What is Low Dose Naltrexone?

LDN is a prescription drug that helps to regulate a dysfunctional immune

system. It reduces pain and fights inflammation. It is not a narcotic or a

controlled substance. It is an opioid receptor antagonist that is taken orally to block opioid receptors. An antagonist is a chemical that acts within the body to reduce the physiological activity of another chemical substance.


Naltrexone was approved by the FDA in 1984 for the treatment of opioid addiction, usually at a dose of 50-100mg a day. It blocks the receptors that opioids like oxycodone bind to negating the euphoric effect. However, at much lower doses, naltrexone has been used for autoimmune disorders like

Hashimoto’s disease as well as chronic pain.


For more information on how LDN works, please click here.

Image Credit: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Naltrexone

How does LDN provide relief?

While Naltrexone is primarily for opioid addiction, a doctor in New York, Dr. Bernard Bihari, discovered that when it was taken at a much lower dose, LDN exhibited beneficial results for patients with autoimmunity, cancer, and HIV or AIDS. Hence the name Low dose Naltrexone (LDN).

These low doses actually increase the level of endorphins in your body. They partially block your opioid receptors when your endorphin levels are typically highest (around 3AM to 4AM). This signals your brain that your levels are low, so it ramps up the production of endorphins and increases your overall levels.

The effects may be beneficial for autoimmune patients due to the fact that endorphins play a role in immune system modulation. Autoimmune patients typically have lower levels of endorphins than people without autoimmunity. No one knows exactly how endorphins help modulate the immune system or why they are decreased in autoimmune patients, yet studies have shown anti-inflammatory benefits and a decrease in Crohn's, Multiple Sclerosis, and fibromyalgia symptoms in patients who were treated with LDN.

There are also many anecdotal success stories from patients and physicians who have seen great results using Low dose Naltrexone as an autoimmune treatment. LDN can be used for any autoimmune disease, although it has typically been found most effective for painful conditions. Conditions commonly treated with LDN include:

  • Hashimoto's Disease
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Lupus
  • Crohn's Disease
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Celiac Disease
  • Psoriasis
  • Sjogren's Syndrome
  • Scleroderma

What does the research show?

Research has been done over the years evaluating how LDN and its use in autoimmune diseases. Some of the studies that have been published are smaller studies but show promise for the treatment of multiple autoimmune diseases using LDN. Studies include:

• Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational and Clinical - showed that LDN is a safe, long-term treatment option for patients with multiple sclerosis.

• Medical Hypotheses - revealed that mounting evidence shows that LDN can modulate the immune system alleviating inflammatory autoimmune diseases.

• International Immunopharmacology - showed that LDN is a promising immunomodulatory agent for immune-related diseases.

For a list of more studies, please click here.

What dosage forms are available?

LDN is available by prescription only from compounding pharmacies. It is available as an immediate-release oral capsule or liquid. LDN is typically prescribed at doses from 0.001mg-16mg with the most common dose of 4.5 mg.


Ask your doctor or one of our compounding pharmacists if LDN is right for you.

Sources:

https://ldnresearchtrust.org/

https://www.healthline.com/health/autoimmune-disorders

https://www.amymyersmd.com/article/low-dose-naltrexone/ .

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2055217316672242

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987708005070

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29885638/