| "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low doses of naltrexone appear to be effective against Crohn's disease, a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease, according to a report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology." "Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, is a drug commonly used to treat opiate addiction. By binding with the opiate receptors in the brain, naltrexone blocks the effects of heroin and other opioids." ""We do not understand the entire mechanism by which the opioid antagonists work to help Crohn's disease," Dr. Jill P. Smith from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey told Reuters Health. " "However, basic science studies suggest that the low-dose naltrexone increases enkephalins and endorphins, two groups of compounds that regulate the body's pain fighting mechanisms, and these in turn improve immunity and cause healing of ulcerated lining of the bowel, she noted." "Smith and associates investigated the effects of low-dose naltrexone (4.5 mg daily) in 17 patients with active Crohn's disease." "The average Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) scores improved by 41 percent, 55 percent, and 49 percent after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment with low-dose naltrexone, the authors report. The scores remained 45 percent lower than the initial score 4 weeks after treatment was discontinued. " "More than three quarters of patients still had a therapeutic response 1 month after treatment, the results indicate, and 88 percent showed a response at week 8 and 12." "Patients also experienced significant improvements in their quality of life while receiving low-dose naltrexone, the researchers note." "There were no significant changes in laboratory
... read the whole article |