Just a warning to people who read the piece referenced in the previous warning: it's a classic example of bias. The author's problem is that the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) doesn't conform to his perception of how science works. As a result, he concludes that: "The end result is just another bogus treatment with claims that are literally too good to be true, based upon pre-clinical or preliminary evidence only."
Perhaps from his theoretical point-of-view what he sees is "preliminary evidence" ...but to a person whose condition has been improved dramatically by the use of LDN, the evidence of the efficacy of the treatment is hardly preliminary.
The author goes on to say, "Meanwhile, the LDN community are turning a promising if preliminary treatment into essentially what is snake oil by promoting it for an implausibly long and contradictory list of indications."
They are making the classic mistake of extrapolating prematurely from preliminary evidence, and relying heavily on anecdotes. Anecdotes are just another form of preliminary evidence (a particularly weak form at that) that should only be used to indicate promising new research, but not as a basis for clinical claims."
First of all, the discovery of the remarkable properties of LDN were a direct result of clinical practice: a doctor in New York City observed that his AIDS patients who were also being treated with naltrexone for heroin addiction did not fall prey to the cancers that their non-naltrexone-using peers were dying from. That led to his investigating the phenomenon and concluding that naltrexone in low doses "boosted the immune system." He began treating desperate patients with LDN, and their health outcomes improved dramatically. Because of the safety of the drug, he went on to prescribe it for other conditions and found remarkable improvements in many of them. Most notably, he found that people suffering with Multiple Sclerosis sometimes made significant gains after a single treatment. Literally overnight.
The author would have you dismiss such events because, as they happened outside the realm of double-blind studies, they are mere "anecdotes." He suggests that such reports of remarkable results should only serve to inspire scientific research. What he fails to understand is that, since naltrexone is long out-of-patent, no pharmaceutical company would commit to the prodigious expense of research, studies and trials on a chemical that can be purchased generically. That such research might benefit humanity is of no meaning to a for-profit corporation, so--- it simply won't be undertaken.
In the absence of such research, the author would have Low Dose Naltrexone simply go away. He writes:
"Proponents have turned into proselytizers – saying on their website:
'If you or someone you know has connections in the media, the medical community, or to those in developing countries involved in AIDS policy or treatment, please let them know about LDN.'
Truly promising and science-based treatments do not need an organization to promote them. The science will speak for itself."
Since naltrexone is off-patent and there will, therefore, be no rigorous science to examine its use, websites and organizations of supporters are exactly what's needed to disseminate information. People can decide for themselves whether the information is "truly promising" or not. In fact, since there's no profit motive attached to LDN, the only people who will spread the word about its usage are people who simply would like to help make others aware of a treatment that might possible improve their health circumstances.
The author refers to LDN as "snake oil" because it supposedly is recommended for a wide range of medical conditions, which is a common feature of bogus treatments. If he had read the literature on Low Dose Naltrexone and understood it, he'd have realized that naltrexone doesn't cure anything. It's a drug that blocks opioid receptors, that's all. By taking it in a low dose, it causes the body to produce an overabundance of both opioid receptors and natural opioids. Evidence has shown that such a condition results in a dramatic improvement in immune function---- and it is the heightened immune system that heals, which is, obviously, what the immune system ~does.~
Please consider why you're reading about Low Dose Naltrexone here on a website devoted to dreaming. I'm some random guy. I used LDN and observed its effect on dreams, lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences. I stumbled upon this website and thought, "Here's a population whose interest in dreaming suggests that some of their number might benefit from Low Dose Naltrexone. I'll join the website and present what I know. Maybe it'll help some people achieve goals that had eluded them."
I had nothing to gain by doing that, other than the joy of being of some service to others. I don't sell naltrexone, or own stock in a company that makes generic drugs, or have a website for anybody to join. I simply shared my anecdotal evidence in the hope that someone else might benefit. People who have had improvements in their health outcomes have shared their stories on LDN forums for similar unselfish, altruistic reasons. Don't hold your breath waiting for profit-based science to act in a similarly compassionate way.
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