LDN treatment for Parkinsons

[FMundo]

I would like to know why LDN has not become a more widely accepted medication for the treatment of Parkinsons. It certainly has taken off for MS, with Neurologists all over the country prescribing it. As articles this year point to increasing evidence that Parkinsons is an autoimmune system disease, and substantial evidence has accumulated pointing to the fact that Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is effective in treating autoimmune illnesses. There is virtually no toxicity with LDN and the idea of cranking up endorphin generation and using the body's natural defense system seems a logical step rather than relying on band-aid approaches of dopamine replacement and symptom suppression alone.

I can't find cases where LDN has caused more than some minor sleep problems which were addressed by further reduction of doseage. And there are many cases of a halt of progression of symptoms, and improvement... or "no change". FOR YEARS.

With some MD's (with family history of cancer) taking LDN as a prophylactic measure for a decade... I'm not exactly shaking in my boots at the prospect of taking LDN even as a recently diagnosed PwP. I have little patience with MD's who refuse to prescribe this medication considering its FDA approval and Toxicity level. Hello! Its MY BODY, and we're dealing with a fatal disease here. Rationalize it for its "placebo effect" if need be. Build a definitive case based on how the body works as to why I SHOULD NOT TAKE LDN. I will listen. Intently.

I'd love to hear about LDN success stories as well as failures.... (if there are any).

[beauxreflets]

Are there examples of testing, trialed information fact sheets &results or testaments that it will assist those with Pd ?

[FMundo in reply to beauxreflets]

Unfortunately Naltrexone is FDA is already approved for high dosage use by human beings. LDN is generic and there's no money for pharmaceutical companies and thus no interest in funding expensive clinical trials. Be mindful of the fact that the drug "does no harm" to those who use it, and the fact that PwP are dying. With this in mind, lets stay focused on the major issue... why should people NOT TAKE LDN?

[Pete-1]

Yes, it has gone very quiet about LDN. Don't know why. Incidentally PD itself is not fatal it just complicates things. I believe that choking is quite a problem for some. So if someone died of choking have they died because of choking or PD. Just an example.

Another example; it is quite common for PD people to get pneumonia. Again, has such an unfortunate end occurred because of PD or Pneumonia? You should be able to put both things down the death certificate but I have heard that doctors commonly don't or at least haven't in the past.

[FMundo in reply to Pete-1]

This is the interesting thing. WHY has it gone very quiet? I would say around 2007 interest seemed to peak. Why? What happened to those people who were taking LDN? Did they stop taking it? All suddenly expired? They want to conceal the information? It is likely that with the fact that Drug companies can't make money combined with the lack of clinical tests to disinterest Neurologists in prescribing it. But how is it that MS patients are being treated with effectively with LDN?

[michaela13]

I've been taking LDN for about 2 months. So far i can't tell if it's helped. However it can take months to see results. I also take it because I also had triple negative breast cancer in 2011. So I had 2 major illnesses at the same time. What have i got to lose? I've felt no side effects.

[Pete-1]

Very good article. Should be compulsory reading for all on this site.

[grey]

Leaving aside LDN for the moment, along with dubious science, motives etc, the underlying question and challenge to conventional wisdom that PD could be an autoimmune problem is very interesting and worth pursuing. Take a look at this recent article:

newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/...

I fear that, because unscrupulous people indulge in commercial mis-behavior such as Osidge has brought to our attention, there is a danger that the underlying "technology" can be tarnished. This is solid research and could possibly be the break through we are waiting for.