The Promise of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy: Potential Benefits in Cancer, Autoimmune, Neurological and Infectious Disorders

Wonderful review and history of LDN and how it is changing the lives of immune disease sufferers worldwide. Hopefully in time we will have a bonafide therapy at a "reasonable cost" as the clinical trials results are published. If you have MS, Crohn's, IBS, HIV/Aids, Cancer, I suggest you read this book and feel hope again.

I had intended to write a longer review of this important book but many of the points to be made have been listed in previous reviews. I can, however, add an historical context for many of the points discussed. In the late 70's, I was a graduate student in Neuroscience working on my dissertation on the effects of chronic alcohol consumption in an animal model. As background, I was required to know what treatments were being used to treat physical dependency and naltrexone was just starting to be used to treat both opiate addiction and alcohol dependency. While naltrexone did not turn out to be especially effective in treating alcohol dependency, I heard a number of stories "on the grapevine" of unexpected and (then) unexplained effects of naltrexone. I knew a number of respected investigators who were convinced that naltrexone had, in the right circumstances, remarkable positive effects with some individuals on conditions unrelated to dependency or addiction. I was intrigued, then, when I came across this book. The authors do not make outrageous claims for low dose naltrexone; what they do, instead, is present a substantial body of information and number of scientific studies that argue convincingly for further investigation of the use of low dose naltrexone in a variety of conditions. Hopefully, this book will be read by both medical researchers and patients whose conditions may be improved by low dose naltrexone therapy.

Like so many of Elaine Moore's other books, this one takes a complex subject - in this case how LDN influences biochemical and cellular processes and modifies the regulators of an immune system response - and puts it into a readable format for almost all levels of readers. It is well-written, engaging, science-based, and resourceful. Moore and her co-author Wilkinson do not portray LDN therapy as a "cure all", having avoided all the pitfalls of foregoing science for false promises, and have instead made the case for LDN use in such chronic diseases as multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, Crohn's disease, certain cancers, HIV/AIDS, and autism. The book factually describes the nature of the drug, its protocols, the bioprocesses involved, and what its influence is on various diseases. It also covers the extensive research and discoveries made by such notable scientists as Drs. Zagon and McLaughlin as well as the outcomes of various LDN studies and trials. The "promise" of low dose naltrexone is that it has done so much good for so many, and with further research and study into it, will surely receive further validation. Moore does a remarkable job of covering a lot of ground in one 213-page book. The book also includes a considerable back section of glossary of terms, resources, and list of clinical trials. Hopefully, this book will make its way to the desk of every physician who must treat chronic illnesses as LDN increasingly finds its way into the mainstream.

Let me keep it simple. This is an outstanding piece of work that everyone with any inflammatory/autoimmune/cancer problems should read, and every doctor should read. Not everyone will understand it, but most people will realize the potential this medication has in treating chronic and life-threatening illness. I speak from experience and it is changing my life for the better after 20 years of difficulty. The authors have gone to great lengths to present objective information, and to indicate the need for continuing education concerning "low dose naltrexone" treatment.

Everyone with cancer, an autoimmune disorder, or a chronic viral infection should read this book, as should the doctors who take care of those patients. LDN offers the promise of an effective, non-toxic therapy for a host of diseases that are difficult or impossible to manage with conventional medical treatment.