How to educate your doctor
. .
Many of us have a hard time finding a doctor willing to listen to us and prescribe LDN.
Crystal keeps a list of doctors in the US and Canada, who are willing to prescribe LDN to their patients
If your doctor is not familiar with LDN, you must prepare yourself ahead of time. Don't overwhelm them, as they don't have much time, but you can print out the important parts and highlight the most important info:
* How to write the prescrition
* Are there any known side effects
* Are there places that your doctor can call to find out more before he prescribes
* If you doctor does not understand immediately, ask him to read the papers that you have brought and ask for another appointment later.
Even patient who has done all the necessary homework, can still find that their doctor will deny the prescription.
Important thoughts:
Why isn't LDN routinely prescribed for MS and other illnesses?
Many physicians simply have not yet learned about the positive effects of LDN on MS symptoms and other illnesses. Because Naltrexone is a generic medication, there are no commercial marketing campaigns to increase awareness of LDN in the medical community. Other doctors may be hesitant to prescribe LDN because it hasn't yet been approved as an MS treatment by the FDA.Why hasn't LDN been approved by the FDA for MS?
Naltrexone (in the higher 50mg dosage) was approved by the FDA in 1984 for opiate abuse therapy, and again in 1995 for alcohol addiction. Its safety and efficacy have been proven in clinical trials. In the much lower dosage of 3 or 4.5mg, Naltrexone has not yet been submitted for FDA approval. Federal regulations prevent the FDA from approving LDN as an MS therapy until it undergoes specific clinical trials for MS.Why hasn't LDN gone through a clinical trial as an MS therapy?
Clinical trials are usually initiated and funded by pharmaceutical companies, and these companies are not interested in promoting or marketing LDN.Why aren't pharmaceutical companies interested in exploring the possibility of LDN as an MS therapy?
Naltrexone was developed so long ago, it is now a generic drug, manufactured by many different companies. Since no single company owns exclusive manufacturing rights, Naltrexone can be manufactured and sold very inexpensively by any pharmaceutical company.This means that LDN can't make anyone any money. Pharmaceutical companies are not eager to fund clinical trials for a drug that will make them no profit. Also, if LDN were FDA-approved and became a preferred treatment for MS, the pharmaceutical companies who make the expensive ABCR drugs could lose millions of dollars.
Are there any plans for a clinical trial for LDN as an MS therapy?
In May 2007, the MindBrain Consortium, the Department of Psychiatry of Summa Hospital System of Akron, Ohio, and the Oak Clinic for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, announced a study of the effects of treating MS with LDN.In March 2007, the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, implemented a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover-design study of the effects of LDN on 80 MS patents.
In December 2006, a study of LDN in MS was begun in Milan by neurological researcher, Dr. Maira Gironi.
In August 2004, the LDN Research Trust (www.ldnresearchtrust.org) was created in England. Organized by a group of patients who have been helped by LDN, the Trust's mission is to raise funds for the initiation of clinical trials for LDN. In conjunction with the Trust, Dr Alasdair Coles, a neurologist and MS specialist from Cambridge University, and Dr Robert Lawrence of Wales, himself an MS patient, are currently working on a proposal for a clinical trial of LDN for the treatment of MS.
Since LDN has also shown promise as a therapy for other autoimmune disorders, there has research activity in that area. In September 2007, the Institutional Review Board in Bamako, Mali, approved plans for a clinical trial of LDN in HIV-infected citizens of Mali. In July 2007, Stanford Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab began organizing a study of LDN for the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Has LDN as an MS therapy been reported in any of the major medical journals?
Most medical journals are not interested in reviewing a drug therapy that has not yet had a clinical trial. However, the peer-reviewed medical journal Medical Hypothesis recently published an article about the LDN's success as an MS therapy.(For full text, see: ldners.org/Articles/LDN_Medical_Hypotheses.pdf )Can a doctor legally prescribe LDN?
Yes. While it is illegal for a pharmaceutical company to market or promote a drug for a use other than that approved by the FDA, it is NOT illegal for a physician to prescribe an FDA-approved drug for a non-FDA-approved use. This is called an "off-label" prescription, and physicians do it all thetime. (Neurontin, for example, was approved by the FDA in 1993 for the treatment of epilepsy; yet it is routinely prescribed off-label for the treatment of MS.) All physicians understand that the responsible off-label use of an FDA-approved medication such as Naltrexone is perfectly ethical and legal.Who first thought of using Low Dose Naltrexone for MS?
Initial research on LDN was conducted by Ian S. Zagon, Ph.D., Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. The use of LDN for MS is credited to Dr. Bernard Bihari, a practicing neurologist in New York. Dr. Bihari, who received his MD from Harvard and is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology, began prescribing LDN for his MS patients in 1985.