Low-dose naltrexone (LDN): Tricking the body to heal itself
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of
Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered the mechanism by which a
low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN), an agent used
clinically (off-label) to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, exerts a
profound inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. It has been
postulated that opioid receptor blockade by LDN provokes a compensatory
elevation in endogenous opioids and opioid receptors that can function
after LDN is no longer available. Using a novel tissue culture model of
LDN action, the mechanism of LDN has been found to target the opioid
growth factor (OGF, [Met5]-enkephalin) and OGF receptor (OGFr) axis.
This discovery, reported in the September 2011 issue of Experimental
Biology and Medicine, provides new insights into the molecular pathway
utilized by an increasingly important clinically prescribed agent that
serves as a basic biological regulator of cell proliferative events
related to pathobiological states such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.
. . . .Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said
“These researchers from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center have made
the important discovery of the mechanism by which a low dose of the
opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN) can suppress cell
proliferative-related disorders such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.
This is an exciting new direction for future therapy”.
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http://www.breakthroughdigest.com/medical-news/low-dose-naltrexone-ldn-tricking-the-body-to-heal-itself/