Researchers Report - 200 Genes Have a Connection to Crohn's Disease

Wish there was more to be said about these 200 genes they found that point to Crohn's.  Nice to know.  

Crohn's Disease, from what I read on a regular basis, is one of the most complex diseases to understand.  Scientists seem to always discover a relationship with "A" ("A" could be any of the following, I'm only listing a few:  impaired  immune response, an increased level of a serine protease, an antigen/toxin, introduced into the body,  a pathogen {a bacteria(especially MAP), virus, fungus} are associated with Crohn's, genetic factors... 200 of them apparently, drugs ( Accutane is the one I hear about the most), environmental factors such as hormonal therapy, ex. birth control.  Not enough exposure to parasites, microorganisms and infectious agents in early childhood- See: Hygiene Hypothesis.     OK that's enough.    You get the point.  

Crohn's can be associated with so many factors, but the progression to determine more components about that factor "A", may lead to other discoveries that bring understanding about how "A" and "B", but not enough to progress with more research studies. 

Then ... That's it!  Scientists reach dead ends. It seems as if the findings discovered do not provide enough concrete information to bring more understanding about the disease which halts additional  research You never hear  much more about the relationship between A & B again. This happens so much with so many of the studies that seek to understand the disease and they all seem to reach a dead end at some point during the research.  There's  a few factors that have a pretty good progression that continue to lead to more connections; & its MAP.  It is the only information that I have read  and continue to read that discover  new findings and links to Crohn's.  Scientists are able to get somewhere with their findings that allow them to be able to do more studies and they gain more  understanding about the disease. 

The other factor that stands out is the Hygiene Hypothesis.  Read about it, it makes sense. 

Of all the conditions we would have to have is one as complicated as the Crohn.    I associate the Crohn's with a nightmare person that is sorta like a stalker/rude/unpredictable/enjoys messing up my day(s) and overstays their welcome ... but they were never welocome to begin with ... The nightmare just comes right in and makes itself at home.   

Anyway... enough of my babble.  Feel free to comment on your thoughts on what research seems to stand and  make progress toward an effective treatment and maybe even a cure.  I'd love to hear what you've found .

#LDN as treatment- 4 #Fibromyalgia - Positive Results in Trial

Published in February 2013, study to determine the effectiveness of naltrexone in low doses for fibromyalgia has again displayed positive results as a good treatment option for this condition.  Low Dose Naltrexone showed significant reduction in baseline pain, improvement with general quality of life and also mood improvement.  

Abstract of study is below.

Low-dose naltrexone for the treatment of fibromyalgia: Findings of a small, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced, crossover trial assessing daily pain levels.

Arthritis Rheum. 2013 Feb;65(2):529-38. doi: 10.1002/art.37734.

Younger J, Noor N, McCue R, Mackey S.

Source

Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California. jarred.younger@stanford.edu.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To determine whether low dosages (4.5 mg/day) of naltrexone reduce fibromyalgia severity as compared with the nonspecific effects of placebo. In this replication and extension study of a previous clinical trial, we tested the impact of low-dose naltrexone on daily self-reported pain. Secondary outcomes included general satisfaction with life, positive mood, sleep quality, and fatigue.

METHODS:

Thirty-one women with fibromyalgia participated in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced, crossover study. During the active drug phase, participants received 4.5 mg of oral naltrexone daily. An intensive longitudinal design was used to measure daily levels of pain.

RESULTS:

When contrasting the condition end points, we observed a significantly greater reduction of baseline pain in those taking low-dose naltrexone than in those taking placebo (28.8% reduction versus 18.0% reduction; P = 0.016). Low-dose naltrexone was also associated with improved general satisfaction with life (P = 0.045) and with improved mood (P = 0.039), but not improved fatigue or sleep. Thirty-two percent of participants met the criteria for response (defined as a significant reduction in pain plus a significant reduction in either fatigue or sleep problems) during low-dose naltrexone therapy, as contrasted with an 11% response rate during placebo therapy (P = 0.05). Low-dose naltrexone was rated equally tolerable as placebo, and no serious side effects were reported.

CONCLUSION:

The preliminary evidence continues to show that low-dose naltrexone has a specific and clinically beneficial impact on fibromyalgia pain. The medication is widely available, inexpensive, safe, and well-tolerated. Parallel-group randomized controlled trials are needed to fully determine the efficacy of the medication.

Copyright © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology.

PMID:

 

23359310

 

[PubMed - in process]

The following toggler user interface control may not be accessible. Tab to the next button to revert the control to an accessible version.

Destroy user interface control

Low-dose naltrexone for the treatment of fib... [Arthritis Rheum. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI:

'via Blog this'

*Videos* - Interview w/ Dr. Bihari about LDN - History of LDN

Want to know about LDN ....or  should I say.. Do you want to know MORE about LDN.?  By now, you should know the basics and then some if you have been reading my blogs that I've posted  about the treatment 

If you haven't watched anything or read anything about LDN, this is the one to watch. The doctor  answers a lot of questions and talks about how the drug works.  You'll understand it.   

Harvard-educated Bernard Bihari, MD is interviewed about his life, and his discovery of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for autoimmune diseases: multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease; also HIV/AIDS and some cancers. This video was given to me by Dr. Bihari's widow, Jacqueline Young.

The video is below.  The interviewer isn't that great cause you can't hear him to well.  Despite that, the Dr. is easy to understand and follow.   This is a long video  (fyi), not all may be interested if you don't care about knowing how the drug works to treat different diseases .  I watched the whole thing because I like such action packed videos.  lol  Im such a nerd!  

I wanted to hear what the man had to say about his advancements  that he discovered through his lifetime.  He's freaking awesome.  He speaks a lot about the research he was working on before he passed away which was HIV/AIDS and cancer and how LDN really is helpful with regulating the immune system .  But he's talking about the body and how the endorphins in the body effect the immune system/response.  He touches on the following points that you may be interested in watching 

I'm glad I watched this because I have a better understanding of how the medicine works in the body and helps balance/regulate the immune system.  His theory suggests that people with cancer, aids, autoimmune diseases have a lower than normal amt of endorphins in the body.  Its all about increasing the body's endorphins!

11:40 - talks about the improvement in AIDS patients with taking ldn, also talks about cancer patients

16:10 - He speaks about LDN and the endorphins. 

18:45 - cell death (cancer cells)caused by endorphins 

**20:19 - 23:00 ** I would def watch this part.  good explaining about the importance of endorphins more about how ldn works in the body (cancer patients... speaks about low endorphins  and how LDN raises the level of endorphins in the body) 

51:10 - the different endorphin receptors and what they effect in the body. interesting 

 He says around 30K-40K people take LDN.  

& Here it is...LISTEN --->  57:09 - 100:20 Touches on Autoimmune Diseases FINALLY.  My undertsanding of how this works goes like this I think.    -   .our t-helper cells get out of wack and get impaired  some how... (probably by a bacteria,  that throws it off) that therefore effects our killer cells & macrophages which get confused with the self vs the bacteria/fungus.  They get confused and attack own tissue/cells and not the foreign bacteria.  From what he says I think the LDN enhances the functioing of the t-cells by increasing the endorphin levels, the endorphins then regulate immune response

101:13 - the amount it costs to run clinical trials for LDN for each condition.  not sure if  he said 15 or 50 million for the 1st 3 trials.  He says that finding a drug company that would want to run the trials,  work w/ FDA, ability to manufacturer , distribute and then advertise is difficult.  

1:04:40 -  talked about low toxicity rate... it doesn't exist.  That's so bomb!, the cost (super cheap)..  Those aspects are probably the main reason LDN will never get approved to treat any other condition..  There's no money to make with this medicine, what would be the incentive.... to make people better... Yeah ok!! LOL  Guess doctors will just have to continue to write it as "off label use".  

VIDEO- Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) Pioneer Dr. Bernard Bihari Talks About His Work Through His Life

Blocking Tumor-Elicited Inflammation & The Impact on Cancer Growth

Interesting short article published in Nature.  It discusses how tumor-associated inflammatory reaction can lead to cancer, but what happens when this inflammatory response is disrupted, blocked, interrupted?  Something to think about.

Blocking Tumor-Induced Inflammation Impacts Cancer Development The findings are published in the October 3, 2012 Advanced Online Edition of Nature.

Oct. 3, 2012 — Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the discovery of microbial–dependent mechanisms through which some cancers mount an inflammatory response that fuels their development and growth.

The association between chronic inflammation and tumor development has long been known from the early work of German pathologist Rudolph Virchow. Harvard University pathologist Harold Dvorak later compared tumors with “wounds that never heal,” noting the similarities between normal inflammation processes that characterize wound- healing and tumorigenesis or tumor-formation.

Indeed, 15 to 20 percent of all cancers are preceded by chronic inflammation – a persistent immune response that can target both diseased and healthy tissues. Chronic hepatitis, for example, may result in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) and inflammatory bowel disease can eventually cause a form of colon cancer, known as colitis-associated cancer.