What Is Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)?

What is naltrexone?

Naltrexone, in its full dose form, is in the opioid antagonists drug class.  It blocks opiate drugs from binding to the opioid receptors, which results in endorphin increase and release of enkephalin.  This causes three areas to be reduced: 1. signaling and release of inflammatory substances, 2. nerve cell inflammation and 3. autoimmune mediators.

LDN is an unfamiliar, a life-changing & very affordable medication with an abundance of success stories in Integrative and Functional Medicine. It could be the “magic” pill that many with chronic and autoimmune conditions, difficulty losing weight and parents of autistic children have been looking for.

How does LDN work?

• Down-regulates inflammatory cytokine release, oncogene expression, and auto-immune cascades

• In the Central Nervous System (CNS) it reduces toll-like receptor signaling and glial cell activation resulting in reduced inflammatory cytokines and reduced neuro-inflammation

• In the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) it modulates T & B lymphocyte production (example: gut inflammation), and reduces inflammatory cytokines (IL6, IL12, TNF alpha) and suppresses tumor growth factor (NF-kB)

When taken at bedtime, the short-acting LDN binds to the receptors which leads to a brief blockade of opioid receptors between 2 am and 4 am. This blockade is believed to up-regulate vital elements of the immune system by causing an increase in endorphin and enkephalin production.