What is low-dose naltrexone(LDN)?
Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist and was approved by the FDA in 1984. By blocking opioid receptors, naltrexone also blocks the reception of the opioid hormones that our brain and adrenal glands produce: beta-endorphin and metenkephalin. Virtually every cell of the body’s immune system has receptors for these endorphins and enkephalins. In 1985, Bernard Bihari, MD, discovered the effects of a much smaller dose of naltrexone on the body’s immune system. He found that this low dose of naltrexone, taken at bedtime, was able to enhance a patient’s response to infection by HIV. Since then, various studies have been performed with LDN. How does LDN work? In short, LDN boosts the immune system thus activating the body’s own natural defenses. The longer version: Over the past two decades, research has pointed repeatedly to one’s own endorphin secretions (our internal opioids) as playing the central role in the beneficial orchestration of the immune system. LDN, taken at bedtime, resu