A low dosage of Naltrexone, the FDA-approved opioid receptor antagonist that has been having success managing opioid and alcohol dependence, may be able to bring relief to those suffering from Crohn’s disease, the inflammatory bowel disease with no known medical cure. This was the finding of a report - “Low-Dose Naltrexone as a Treatment For Active Crohn’s Disease” - into pilot research undertaken by Professor Jill Smith of the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.
Presented at the Digestive Diseases Week conference on the 23rd of May, the findings offer hope for those 500,000 people afflicted by the disease and who are currently treated with steroids (with their potential for toxic side effects). According to an article published on Penn State Live, the 16-week trial found that “89 percent of participants showed an improvement with therapy, while 67 percent achieved remission of symptoms. The only side effect to treatment was sleep disturbance in some patients.” The National Institutes of Health has already provided a grant of $500,000 for Smith to carry on with the study. There are plans in the offing to publish the results in a peer-reviewed scientific medical journal.
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