Low Dose Naltrexon (LDN)
LDN (low dose Nalt-rexon) was discovered in 1963, approved in the USA in 1984 for the treatment of drug addicts and in 1995 for the treatment of alcohol-addicted patients.
In the course of the scientific monitoring, there were ever stronger indications that LDN exerts an influence on the immune system at a much lower dosage, namely 1mg to 4.5mg.
Many cancer patients have very low endorphin levels. However, endorphins have a controlling effect on cancer growth and a modulating effect on the immune system.
The bodies own opioids, known as endorphins, are responsible for numerous bodily functions, such as pain relief and general well-being. Endorphins control the body's stress reactions, as well as the cardiovascular system, digestion, respiration and temperature regulation. They are also important regulators of cell growth and have an immune-modulating effect.
An increased endorphin level seems to stimulate the immune system and make it functional again. This theory is supported by the fact that endorphin levels are very low in HIV patients as well as in MS and cancer patients, showing that the immune system no longer work well.
LDN therapy modulates the overactive immune system in many autoimmune diseases such as MS as well as the weakened immune system in cancer patients. LDN thus appears to have an influence on homeostasis: the body's ability to maintain the balance across its diverse functions.
The administration of LDN leads to the increased formation of the opioid growth factor met-encephalin and beta-endorphin and to the increased formation of opioid receptors on the tumor cells, whereby endorphins can increasingly induce cell death here. An increase in the natural killer cells and their activity as well as the lymphocyte-activated CD8 cells, which react to the increased endorphin level, was also measured.
At the Hyperthermia Centre Hannover we have acquired positive experience with LDN therapy for bladder cancer, breast cancer, carcinoids, colon cancer, glioblastomas, liver cancer, lung cancer (non-small-cell or small-cell), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), lymphoma (Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's), malignant melanoma, multiple melanoma, neuroblastoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer and uterine cancer.
Overall, LDN is a very well tolerated supplement to conventional standard therapy, the effectiveness of which it can positively influence in the long term.
LDN should not be combined with drugs that suppress the immune system (immune suppressants or chemotherapy). It is also unsuitable in combination with opiate pain therapy, which can be weakened by NDL.