HSP70 Could Fix Gene Mutations of NOD2 in People w/ Crohn's Disease

I have all these drafts that I never published at the time that I am going to post now.  My focus and concentration is not on the management of symptoms to quiet Crohn's anymore.  There's too much scientific data that suggests that Crohn's is caused by a bacteria in people that are immune deficient (can't fight off the pathogen and kill it the way normal immune systems do - that's why some people get Crohn's and others remain healthy).
My goal is to be well and have health again. I do understand that everyones approach to handling their disease is unique to the individual, so if I can provide anything that can help them, I will do that.
Happy Saturday.. Yay, it's sunny!

Protein found that fixes Crohn's disease gene - EmaxHealth:

Researchers say they have identified a protein that stabilizes another protein involved in Crohn's disease. University of Delaware researchers discovered how certain proteins can prevent gut bacteria can trigger an abnormal immune response to lead to inflammation associated with Crohn's and other inflammatory bowel disorders.

New target for treating Crohn's disease

Past research has focused on the role of gut bacteria as a contributor to Crohn's disease. The new research conducted by Catherine Leimkuhler Grimes, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UD, and Vishnu Mohanan, doctoral student in biological sciences focused on mutation of a gene called NOD2 — nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing protein 2 - that is strongly associated with Crohn's disease.

Mohanan discovered HSP70 that stands for "heat shock protein 70" plays a role in helping the body attack "bad" gut bacteria, which essentially "fixes" mutations of NOD2.

HSP70 is referenced as a chaperone molecule that helps proteins maintain their three dimensional shape.

According to a press release, "..we stumbled on this chaperone molecule," says Mohanan, who was the lead author of article.published in the July 4, 2014 Journal of Biological Chemistry.''

Individual Inflammatory Bowel Disease Therapies from Biopsied Epithelial Cells

That would be cool.  Getting treated based on needs that addresses the missing  component. I'll be positive and not bitch about the fact that they aren't looking to zoom up on what the cause is that is changing the cells in the first place.  Something is causing them to respond to certain factors a certain way.  That's a post for another day.  This study was positive though.  Maybe this can lead to treatments that can improve the quality of life in people that suffer from IBD/gastrointestinal disturbances. We can only hope that treatments will be better and safer.  So, Washington University researchers used biopsy cells, taken from patients during a routine endoscopy to study if epithelial cells could be grown in the lab if therapeutic conditions were provided.  According to the article, cells were obtained and placed in "a high concentration of conditioned media containing the factors critical for growth (Wnt3a, R-spondin and Noggin)". Within 2 weeks, the result from these conditions were positive.  They showed that epithelial cells formed "functional, polarised monolayers covered by a secreted mucus layer when grown on Transwell membranes". They also exposed the cells to bacteria (e. coli) to see how they would respond when exposed to harmful bacteria changes.  The results were favorable.   

Growing Intestinal Epithelial Cells May Lead to Personalized IBD Therapies:

Technology for the growth of human intestinal epithelial cells could help scientists develop individualized therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal conditions. This is the conclusion of a group of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who recently published a study, entitled, “Development of an enhanced human gastrointestinal epithelial culture system to facilitate patient-based assays,” in the Journal Gut.

For this to be possible, the team explained in the abstract of their study that epithelial cells must be enhanced so that biopsies from patients can be used to generate cell lines (which are populations of cells in culture with the same genetic makeup) in a short time frame, so that the analysis can be made accurately.

In two weeks, researchers were able to create 65 human gastrointestinal epithelial cell lines from biopsies of 47 patients, taken during routine endoscopic screening procedures. They used a high concentration of conditioned media containing the factors critical for growth, which resulted in a rapid expansion of the proliferative stem and progenitor cells. In addition, the team used a combination of lower conditioned media concentration and Notch inhibition to differentiate these cells for further research.

Results showed that under differentiation conditions, intestinal epithelial spheroids developed mature epithelial lineages in specific regions. These cells formed functional, polarized monolayers covered by a secreted mucus layer when grown on Transwell membranes.

After this process, researchers conducted experiments to determine how the cells interacted with bacterial pathogens like Escherichia coli. They found the cells also demonstrated novel adherence phenotypes with various strains of pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Ultimately, these findings can help testing of new drug targets, as well as developing vaccines. Furthermore, they will play a crucial role in understanding how human cells interact with beneficial and harmful microbes, researchers believe.

Link to the abstract journal article in Gut - http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2014/07/09/gutjnl-2013-306651.abstract?sid=79c1ef19-7ade-4f0b-99cf-aadfe542fd76 Gut doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306651

Is It Possible to Cure Crohn's Disease? I Think So

A writer for Psychology Today, contributes the following article (and 2 more that I will post after this article) pertaining to something that I have read up on and firmly believe is the culprit to Crohn's disease.  Everyone should read this information and remember it.  I think a lot of people have been made hopeless or skeptical in regards to Crohn's disease because people are told so many things that contradict that there will ever be a cure.  Doctor's have been telling people for decades now that there will never be a cure.
It's a new day people, get out of the rut of thinking in the past and open your mind to new developements and discoveries.  It's worth it and I am super duper hopeful.

Is There a Cure for Crohn's Disease?   Part 1

|From Psychology Today:

Through luck, hard work, good fortune, perseverance, and wonderful doctors, I seem to be one of the few people in the world who can claim to be “cured” of Crohn’s Disease. I’ve told this story before, in several places, but I feel a need to get the information out to a more general audience, even though this is not a psychology story but a medical and scientific one. In September, 2005, I wrote a small article for the PCC SoundConsumer, a very small newspaper published by a local Seattle natural foods grocery store, about my experience with Crohn’s Disease. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0509/sc0509-hw-crohns.htm For some reason, that little article went viral, and to this day I receive letters from people from all over the world asking for information about Crohn’s Disease and its probable connection with a specific microbe, mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). I told the story again in a scientific journal, the Paratuberculosis Newsletter,http://www.paratuberculosis.info/web/images/newsletters/2012q2.pdfBut that journal is not highly visible. Since 8 years has gone by, and I have much more information now, I am going to put this on Psychology Today, for the benefit of all of those who suffer from Crohn’s or who love people who suffer from Crohn’s. I will have to tell this story in several segments, since Psych Today restricts individual posts to about 800 words. Please bear with me. I will be providing a lot of information, references, and information that is crucial to individual and public health.Single case reports are no longer the fashion in modern medicine. We all know that an n of 1 plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 ad infinitum equals nothing in terms of proving causality in “evidence based medicine”. Proving anything in the case of Crohn’s Disease is difficult. See this excellent review of this situation, Causality and gastrointestinal infections: Koch, Hill, and Crohn’s by Anne-Marie Lowe, Cedric P Yansouni, and Marcel A Behr, Lancet Infect Dis 2008:8: 720–26. You must understand that for scientists today, a single case report is virtually meaningless. However, my victory over Crohn’s Disease doesn’t prove anything by itself, but I think that it matters insofar as it suggests the desirability of pursuing a more detailed scientific inquiry. Furthermore, there are hundreds of thousands of people with Crohn’s, many of them children, who are being treated under a different paradigm, and with variable success. Moreover, I think many of those people got sick because they consumed contaminated food products without knowing it, sometimes years before the disease manifested itself. I think there is better way to treat Crohn’s, and better yet, to prevent it. In brief, I think I was “cured” of Crohn’s Disease with antibiotics directed at the eradication of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.Background: MAP is a small bacteria in the same family as leprosy and tuberculosis. In 1894, two veterinarians, Dr. H.A. Johne and Dr. L. Frothingham, identified this organism in a cow with weight loss and poor milk production in Germany. It is an acid-fast bacterium, like TB and leprosy, but has other properties as well. The best place to read about MAP is on the web site www.johnes.org
Farmers rapidly learned that their cows could develop either bovine TB or what came to be known as Johne’s Disease. Both were serious and expensive for the farmers. However, for various reasons, everyone agreed that tuberculosis could be transmitted from cows to people, and many public health measures were put into place to stop bovine TB. However, to this day, the USDA and the IOE, the World Organization for Animal Health http://www.oie.int/ deny that MAP is a “zoonotic disease”, a disease that can be transmitted from animals to people. The ostensible reasons for this are that MAP cannot be visualized in human tissues with ordinary microscopes (while it is easy to see MAP in animal specimens); PCR studies and other DNA fingerprinting technologies yield ambiguous results; and nobody dares to try the experiment to prove Koch’s postulates, which would be to grow human MAP in culture, and then feed those germs to human infants. That would be immoral and ridiculous. For various reasons, scientists dispute the claim that MAP causes Crohn’s Disease because Koch’s postulates have not been fulfilled, even though nobody has ever grown M. Leprae (the germ that causes leprosy) in culture. It has to be grown in the foot pads of armadillos…. Koch’s postulates are not applied to viruses, prions, or other pathogens. Even though MAP comes very close to meeting Koch’s postulates, its pathogenicity is disputed. (There was even an experiment in the 1980s in which MAP was grown from human biopsy specimens, and then fed to baby goats. The goats got Johne’s Disease. But it was a small n…)
As a result, animals that test positive for MAP are not culled and eliminated from human food products. They can be sold for meat, into the food supply. Moreover, viable MAP can be cultured from milk, including pastuerized milk, around the world. MAP is a very stubborn bacteria, resistant to heat and chlorine. It thrives on biofilms, and has a persistent spore that can last for years. The incidence of Crohn’s Disease in the world has grown in proportion to the use of dairy products. For example, Japan had little Crohn’s 100 years ago, and now it is becoming a significant problem. When you go to the grocery store and consider buying raw milk products, remember that MAP is endemic to cows, sheep, and goats, and roughly 1% of pasteurized milk in the US contains viable MAP.

#Vedolizumab - Favorable Among FDA for Ulcerative #Colitis & #Crohns

Good News!!  The FDA supports the approval of Vedolizumab for the treatment of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.  The treatment looks extremely promising with a safety profile to be recognized.  
Hey, If I would consider the treatment, it has to have minimal/low risks in regard to serious side effects that a lot of biologics have.  Vedolizumab is looking good in the safety department.
The FDA will make the decision to either approve or deny treatment for use among ulcerative colitis (UC) patients by Feb. 18.  The decision for Crohn’s disease (CD) patients will be several months later around June. 

Vedolizumab for Crohn's Wins Support:

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Most members of an FDA advisory committee support approval of the investigational biologic agent vedolizumab for Crohn's disease, as well as supporting an additional indication for ulcerative colitis.

Another Study Reveals Benefits of Medicinal Marijuana -Crohn's Remission

I have read dozens of articles, studies, reports, etc. that read similar to this article!  How many more studies are necessary for people to realize pot is not harmful and isn't going to kill anyone? It's actually almost funny that this herb is still looked at as a dangerous drug.  It's a plant... and it's shown to provide more benefits than harm.   The research always results in a significant benefit when studies are conducted.  I don't ever remember reading anything negative about marijuana, or it causing serious problems for the people that smoke it.  We would definitely know by now if weed were harmful.  Even if there were terrible outcomes from smoking pot, we do not hear these reports because of all the legality issues surrounding the word "marijuana".  It's ridiculous that the plant is still illegal and considered harmful here in the US!  Wake Up America!

Eventually, pot will be legal in all US states, but it's going to take a long time for all of them to adopt legislation (NY will probably be one of the last states to legalize it).  Turtle pace.... because that's how the US of A rolls.  Nice and s loooooooooooowwww. 

Medical Marijuana Causes 'Complete Remission' In Crohn's Disease Patients Without Side Effects, Study Finds : Latin Times:

Crohn's Disease has long been a fickle illness that requires meticulous attention to treat and live with. Researchers at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Meir Medical Center in Israel, however, may have found relief for patients of the disease in medical marijuana. The study split 21 patients who received a high Crohn's disease activity index and were not responding to other treatments into two groups. One group was given a joint to smoke twice a day while the other group were given placebos lacking cannabinoids for the duration of eight weeks.

The study found complete remission for 45 percent of the group that smoked cannabis, or 5 out of 11 patients, as compared to the control group, which only experienced a 1 in 10 remission rate, the Huffington Post reported. It is speculated that cannabinoids with their anti-inflammatory properties are likely the cause of relief for the disease, which causes inflamation of the bowels. This inflammation can lead to extreme discomfort, diarhrea that may contain blood, weight loss, vomiting, rashes, inflammation of other parts of the body and tiredness among other symptoms, SF Gate reported. Others in the cannabis group reported lessened strength in their usual symptoms without the side effects caused by steroids often used to treat the illness.

"THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active Crohn's disease, compared with placebo, without side effects," the researchers wrote in the study. "Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects."

The study, the authors conceded, was not a complete success as it was hypothesized that induced remission would occur for all or most of the patients. Still, researchers say that the relative success of this study is worth noting. The results have indeed produced a need for further investigation, the study says.

RELATED: Marijuana Diabetes: Pot Smokers Have Lower Diabetes Risk; Are Pot Smokers Skinnier? 

Crohn's disease is highly prevalent for whites, with 43.6 percent of every 100,000 being affected by the disease, one study by the Department of Family Medicine in San Bernardino, Calif. found. Latinos, by contrast, have the lowest rate of the disease with only 4.1 percent in every group of 100,000 being affected. Latinos, especially immigrants to the U.S., however, have notably higher rates of ulcerative colitis than most whites, VOXXI reported. A study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the urgency of treatment also contrasted non-Hispanics. Whites needed surgery at a much higher rate than Hispanics. Access to care may influence how often the disease is actually diagnosed, but researchers said that it does not explain the difference between U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanics in terms of the prevalence of the disease.

"It is unclear what is responsible for this observation, but possibilities include changes in the environment with migration, diet and other factors related to acculturation," Daniel Sussman, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Jackson Memorial Hospital and University of Miami, said. "Our research did not measure the incidence or prevalence of IBD in Hispanics. Available population-based studies show that the incidence of IBD in some Latin American countries is higher than anticipated; this may be a result of the "westernization" of many Latin-American countries. As the Hispanic population continues to grow in the U.S., we expect that the number of Hispanic patients with IBD will also rise."

Higher Risk of Melanoma in IBD Patients

Gee great!! I'm just gonna die.. my God.  Melanoma was the cancer that killed my mother, making the % higher for me.  I didn't even read the article.  The title says enough.  Maybe one day i'll decide to scan my eyes over the words, but for now I don't feel like going there.  Click the link to go to the original article if you'd like to read it. 

IBD patients are at higher risk of melanoma, report researchers:

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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 .

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.

MAP- Where Are All the #MAP Organisms Living in Patients w/ #Crohns Disease?

Niiiiice find of information... props to PLOS for their open access (free) library of research!  There are so many good points that make sense about the link between MAP & Crohn's disease.  As you read this, you will understand what I mean - Check out what  is said about fistulas, also the location where MAP organisms may be found in large numbers within our body.  There are so many other significant postulations that are made that focus on the real cause of Crohn's that point in the direction to MAP.  

       Have Hope!!
Read this and be encouraged! Researchers and scientists are getting closer to identifying the cause of Crohn's.  Some people, a lot of people in the medical field do want to find a cure for this horrible disease, despite the downers working through our government who tend to go against the grin.  Try to be optimistic and your despair and helplessness will begin to change into enthusiasm.  

So many people have given up on their body and they no longer care what happens to it.  They are not involved with their treatment planning because they just don't care anymore, they don't make necessary (but difficult) adjustments to their lives that will lead to a better quality of life in the longterm because their hope is gone and they pretty much are just wasting away.  You have to remember YOU have Crohn's, Crohn's doesn't have you.... unless you give it permission to rule your body.  

My goal now, is to figure out how to get tested for this bacteria and where I have to go to have it done. I don't care where I have to go to have it done, who supports me & who thinks I'm wasting my time.  It doesn't matter to me what people think anymore.  This is a battle I fight daily and i'll do what it takes to get well.  

1st, do you know what MAP is ? (It stands for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis  - MAP)  READ THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR GENERAL INFO THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW.

I'm so fueled, not just from this article, but the list of over 15 other articles on PLOS that I haven't read yet on with the focus on MAP.  

ARTICLE  HIGHLIGHTS 

•  "MAP has been identified in the mucosal layer and deeper bowel wall in patients with Crohn's disease by methods other than light microscopy, and by direct visualization in small numbers by light microscopy"
• "MAP is present in pasteurized milk [27], infant formula made from pasteurized milk[28], breast milk from women with Crohn's disease [29], surface water [30]–[32], soil [30], cow manure “lagoons” that can leach into surface water [33], cow manure in both solid and liquid forms that is applied as fertilizer to agricultural land [33], and municipal tap water [25],[34], providing multiple routes of transmission to humans."
• "MAP is still not accepted as the cause of Crohn's disease. The identification of MAP by methods other than direct visualization by light microscopy, and the identification of MAP in small numbers by light microscopy, has not constituted convincing evidence of causation to the medical community at large."
• "...MAP organisms might therefore be present in large numbers in the following locations in patients with Crohn's disease: 1)The blood vessels, lymph vessels (lymphatics), and lymph nodes in the mesentery of affected bowel wall segments. 2) The mesentery itself, i.e., the adipocytes that fill the mesentery. 3)The walls of fistulas."
• "While other organisms have also been identified in the intestines of patients with Crohn's disease [23], no other putative pathogenic organism causes a chronic granulomatous inflammation of the intestines..."
• "humans with Crohn's disease have antibodies to MAP antigens in their blood. ELISA studies, which detect antibodies to MAP antigens in the blood, demonstrate that anywhere from 23% to almost 90% of Crohn's patients have such antibodies [11], [15]–[17]."

 

Where Are All the (MAP) Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis in Patients with Crohn's Disease?

• Ellen S. Pierce mai

Nutrition & Crohn's Disease: Vitamins & Supplement Information From WebMD

Vitamins for Crohn's Disease: Supplement Information From WebMD:

Vitamins for Crohn's Disease

If you have Crohn's disease, good nutrition is crucial so you can stay as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, the disease -- as well as treatments for it -- can make it much harder to get enough of the vitamins and minerals you need.

Doctors often recommend vitamins for Crohn's disease to work around this problem. Whether you need Crohn's disease vitamins -- and which ones -- depends on your case and the your medical treatments.  

Here's a rundown of the minerals and vitamins for Crohn's disease that your body might not be getting -- and advice on how to get more of them.

Crohn's Disease Nutrition

Poor nutrition has real risks if you have Crohn's disease. You may feel run-down and sick. Medications may not work as well. In children and teens, poor nutrition related to Crohn's disease can stunt growth.

Why does Crohn's disease affect nutrition? There are several reasons.

• Inflammation and damage to the small intestine fromCrohn's diseasecan make it hard for the body to absorb substances from food, such as carbs, fats, water, and many vitamins and minerals. Surgery for Crohn’s may also make it more difficult to absorb nutrients.
• Reduced appetite -- from pain, diarrhea, anxiety, and changes in taste -- makes it hard to eat enough.  
• Some medications for Crohn's disease make it harder to absorb nutrients.
• Internal bleeding in the digestive tract can lead to anemia, which can cause low levels of iron.

Crohn's Disease Nutrition: What's Missing?

What vitamins and minerals are missing in your diet? People with Crohn's disease are likely to have lower levels of:

• Vitamin B12. After surgery in the ileum -- the lower section of the small intestine -- it may not be possible to absorb enough vitamin B12. Dietary changes and oral vitamins can help. Some people with Crohn's disease need injections of vitamin B12 or a B12 nasal spray.
• Folic acid. Some drugs for Crohn's disease, such as sulfasalazine or methotrexate, can lower levels of folic acid. A daily 1 mg dose of a folate supplement could help. 
• Vitamin D. Studies have shown the people with Crohn's disease often have low levels of vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium for strong bones.  Many people with Crohn's disease take an 800 IU supplement of vitamin D daily.
• Vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin K can be low in people who have trouble absorbing fats because of surgery for Crohn's disease.
• Calcium. Steroids for Crohn's disease can weaken bones and affect your body’s ability to absorb calcium. On top of that, some people with Crohn's disease avoid milk because they're also lactose intolerant, further reducing calcium. Up to 50% of people with Crohn's have osteopenia, or thinning of the bones. Taking additional supplements -- often 1,500 mg of calcium a day -- can help keep bones strong and prevent other problems.
• Iron. People with active Crohn's disease may develop anemia from blood loss in the intestines. The best treatment for anemia is with iron. Most people take iron tablets or liquid, but some get infusions instead.
• Potassium, magnesium, and zinc may be lower in people with Crohn's disease. Taking a daily supplement can help.

LDN to treat Autoimmune Diseases - Clinical Trials

LDN Clinical Trials:

'via Blog this'

Clinical Trials

Am J Gastroenterol. 2007 Apr;102(4):820-8. Epub 2007 Jan 11.

Low-dose naltrexone therapy improves active Crohn's disease.

Smith JP, Stock H, Bingaman S, Mauger D, Rogosnitzky M, Zagon IS.

Department of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA.

OBJECTIVES: Endogenous opioids and opioid antagonists have been shown to play a role in healing and repair of tissues. In an open-labeled pilot prospective trial, the safety and efficacy of low-dose naltrexone (LDN), an opioid antagonist, were tested in patients with active Crohn's disease.

METHODS: Eligible subjects with histologically and endoscopically confirmed active Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) score of 220-450 were enrolled in a study using 4.5mg naltrexone/day. Infliximab was not allowed for a minimum of 8 wk prior to study initiation. Other therapy for Crohn's disease that was at a stable dose for 4 wk prior to enrollment was continued at the same doses. Patients completed the inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ) and the short-form (SF-36) quality of life surveys and CDAI scores were assessed pretreatment, every 4 wk on therapy and 4 wk after completion of the study drug. Drug was administered by mouth each evening for a 12-wk period.

RESULTS: Seventeen patients with a mean CDAI score of 356 +/- 27 were enrolled. CDAI scores decreased significantly (P=0.01) with LDN, and remained lower than baseline 4 wk after completing therapy. Eighty-nine percent of patients exhibited a response to therapy and 67% achieved a remission (P < 0.001). Improvement was recorded in both quality of life surveys with LDN compared with baseline. No laboratory abnormalities were noted. The most common side effect was sleep disturbances, occurring in seven patients.

CONCLUSIONS: LDN therapy appears effective and safe in subjects with active Crohn's disease. Further studies are needed to explore the use of this compound.

PMID: 17222320

---

Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Sep;6(3):293-6.

Reversal of signs and symptoms of a B-cell lymphoma in a patient using only low-dose naltrexone.

Berkson BM, Rubin DM, Berkson AJ.

Integrative Medical Center of New Mexico, Las Cruces, USA.

PMID: 17761642

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Mult Scler. 2008 Sep;14(8):1076-83.

A pilot trial of low-dose naltrexone in primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Gironi M, Martinelli-Boneschi F, Sacerdote P, Solaro C, Zaffaroni M, Cavarretta R, Moiola L, Bucello S, Radaelli M, Pilato V, Rodegher M, Cursi M, Franchi S, Martinelli V, Nemni R, Comi G, Martino G.

Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE) and Department of Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 58, Milan, Italy.

A sixth month phase II multicenter-pilot trial with a low dose of the opiate antagonist Naltrexone (LDN) has been carried out in 40 patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The primary end points were safety and tolerability. Secondary outcomes were efficacy on spasticity, pain, fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Clinical and biochemical evaluations were serially performed. Protein concentration of beta-endorphins (BE) and mRNA levels and allelic variants of the mu-opiod receptor gene (OPRM1) were analyzed. Five dropouts and two major adverse events occurred. The remaining adverse events did not interfere with daily living. Neurological disability progressed in only one patient. A significant reduction of spasticity was measured at the end of the trial. BE concentration increased during the trial, but no association was found between OPRM1 variants and improvement of spasticity. Our data clearly indicate that LDN is safe and well tolerated in patients with PPMS.

PMID: 18728058

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Pain Med. 2009 May-Jun;10(4):663-72. Epub 2009 Apr 22.

Fibromyalgia symptoms are reduced by low-dose naltrexone: a pilot study.

Younger J, Mackey S.

School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, Division of Pain Management, Stanford University, 780 Welch Road, Suite 208, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1573, USA.

jarred.younger@stanford.edu

OBJECTIVE: Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that is characterized by diffuse musculoskeletal pain and sensitivity to mechanical stimulation. In this pilot clinical trial, we tested the effectiveness of low-dose naltrexone in treating the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

DESIGN: Participants completed a single-blind, crossover trial with the following time line: baseline (2 weeks), placebo (2 weeks), drug (8 weeks), and washout (2 weeks).

PATIENTS: Ten women meeting criteria for fibromyalgia and not taking an opioid medication.

INTERVENTIONS: Naltrexone, in addition to antagonizing opioid receptors on neurons, also inhibits microglia activity in the central nervous system. At low doses (4.5 mg), naltrexone may inhibit the activity of microglia and reverse central and peripheral inflammation.

OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed reports of symptom severity everyday, using a handheld computer. In addition, participants visited the lab every 2 weeks for tests of mechanical, heat, and cold pain sensitivity.

RESULTS: Low-dose naltrexone reduced fibromyalgia symptoms in the entire cohort, with a greater than 30% reduction of symptoms over placebo. In addition, laboratory visits showed that mechanical and heat pain thresholds were improved by the drug. Side effects (including insomnia and vivid dreams) were rare, and described as minor and transient. Baseline erythrocyte sedimentation rate predicted over 80% of the variance in drug response. Individuals with higher sedimentation rates (indicating general inflammatory processes) had the greatest reduction of symptoms in response to low-dose naltrexone.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that low-dose naltrexone may be an effective, highly tolerable, and inexpensive treatment for fibromyalgia.

PMID: 19453963

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Inflamm Bowel Dis.. [Epub ahead of print]

Low-dose naltrexone for treatment of duodenal Crohn's disease in a pediatric patient.

Shannon A, Alkhouri N, Mayacy S, Kaplan B, Mahajan L.

Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.

PMID: 20014017

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Annals of Neurology, Volume 9999, Issue 999A, Feb 2010

Pilot trial of low dose naltrexone and quality of life in MS

Bruce A.C. Cree, Elena Kornyeyeva, Douglas S. Goodin

Multiple Sclerosis Center at Univ. of Calif. in San Francisco 350 Parnassus Ave., Suite 908, San Francisco, CA 94117  USA

bruce.cree@ucsf.edu

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of 4.5 mg nightly naltrexone on the quality of life of multiple sclerosis patients.

Methods: This single center, double-masked, placebo-controlled, crossover studied evaluated the efficacy of eight weeks of treatment with 4.5 mg nightly naltrexone (Low dose naltrexone or LDN) on self reported quality of life of MS patients.

Results: 80 subjects with clinically definite multiple sclerosis were enrolled and 60 subjects completed the trial. 10 withdrew before completing the first trial period: 8 for personal reasons, 1 for a non-MS related adverse event and 1 for perceived benefit. Database management errors occurred in 4 other subjects and quality of life surveys were incomplete in 6 subjects for unknown reasons. The high rate of subject dropout and data management errors substantially reduced the trial's statistical power. LDN was well tolerated and serious adverse events did not occur. LDN was associated with significant improvement on the following mental health quality of life measures: a 3.3 point improvement on the Mental Component Summary score of the SF-36 (P=.04), a 6 point improvement on the Mental Health Inventory (P<.01), a 1.6 point improvement on the Pain Effects Scale (P=.04) and a 2.4 point improvement on the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (P=.05).

Interpretation: LDN significantly improved mental health quality of life indices. Further studies with LDN in MS are warranted.

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Medicinal Marijuana- Studies Show It Helps Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis (#IBD) - Pass the Pot Please!

I would certainly try this.  Pass the dutch NY!

Article Highlights

• "....cannabidiol (a non-psychoactive and healthful ingredient in marijuana), “is a very promising compound” because it does not have any psychotropic effects, and that it is a “potential candidate for the development of a new class of anti-IBD drugs.”

• "...people who had had IBD for a long time responded favorably to marijuana, experiencing an increase in appetite, weight gain, better social functioning, improved ability to work, and an improvement in depression and pain after three months of treatment..."

By Deborah Mitchell on December 26, 2012 - 5:33am

Marijuana Helps Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two main types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are a challenge to treat. Among the potential treatment options is marijuana, and several recent studies indicate that this unconventional option offers some significant benefits.

How we treat inflammatory bowel disease

The current treatment options for the more than 1.5 million Americans and millions more who suffer with inflammatory bowel disease include dietary measures (e.g., olive oil extract, vitamin D, probiotics) and a variety of drugs. These treatments attempt to alleviate the diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever, weight loss and abdominal pain and cramps associated with the disease.

The more common treatments for IBD include anti-inflammatory drugs, such as sulfasalazine, corticosteroids (which have significant side effects and are only suitable for short-term use), mesalamine (e.g., Apriso, Dipentum, Lialda), immune system suppressors (e.g., azathioprine, cyclosporine, infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab, methotrexate), which can have significant side effects, and antibiotics, which are of questionable benefit. Beyond these drugs are others that can address specific symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, or pain, or address nutritional deficiencies (e.g., iron, calcium, vitamin B12). Surgery is a last resort.

Inflammatory bowel disease can be life-threatening and thus deserves focused attention. Ulcerative colitis typically affects only the large intestine (colon) and rectum and usually develops gradually over time. Crohn’s disease can occur anywhere along the intestinal tract and can infiltrate the tissues.

Studies of marijuana and IBD
A review of investigations into the use of cannabis for inflammatory bowel disease reveals that its use “in the clinical therapy has been strongly limited by their psychotropic effects.” The authors of this recent Italian study, however, point out that cannabidiol (a non-psychoactive and healthful ingredient in marijuana), “is a very promising compound” because it does not have any psychotropic effects, and that it is a “potential candidate for the development of a new class of anti-IBD drugs.”

A 2012 study published in Digestion noted that people who had had IBD for a long time responded favorably to marijuana, experiencing an increase in appetite, weight gain, better social functioning, improved ability to work, and an improvement in depression and pain after three months of treatment with inhaled cannabis. Earlier studies have also indicated positive effects.

For example, an Israeli study was the first to show that use of marijuana in people with Crohn’s disease could provide a positive result. Twenty-one of the 30 patients in the study experienced significantly improvement after using marijuana, and the need for drugs was significantly reduced as well.

In yet another study, Canadian researchers evaluated 100 people with ulcerative colitis and 191 with Crohn’s disease and their use of marijuana. The investigators found a significant level of marijuana use among people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (about 50% in each group). People who had a history of surgery for IBD were more likely to use marijuana (60%) than were those who had not undergone surgery (32%).

The bottom line appears to be that use of marijuana among people who have inflammatory bowel disease may be beneficial. If you have ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, you should ask your healthcare provider or another healthcare professional about the possibility of using marijuana for symptom relief.

SOURCES:
Esposito G et al. Cannabidiol in inflammatory bowel disease: a brief overview. Phytotherapy Research 2012 July; doi:10.1002/ptr.4781
Lahat A et al. Impact of cannabis treatment on the quality of life, weight and clinical disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease patients: a pilot prospective study. Digestion 2012; 85(1): 1-8
Lal S et al. Cannabis use amongst patients with inflammatory bowel disease. European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2011 Oct; 23(10): 891-96
Naftali T et al. Treatment of Crohn’s disease with cannabis: an observational study. Israel Medical Association Journal 2011 Aug; 1(8): 455-58

Marijuana Helps Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis:

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