What is LDN’s Impact on Cancer and Immunity?

This presentation explores the potential of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) in managing Lynch syndrome and various cancers. Dr. Deanna Windham explains how LDN may modulate the immune system by upregulating endorphin production. This mechanism is crucial as many diseases, including cancer, are linked to immune system dysfunction. LDN's role in enhancing immune cells and potentially inducing cancer cell death is discussed.
 

Dr. Deanna Windham, DO: First though, let's talk about low dose naltrexone and how it can impact the various contributors to lynch syndrome that we've talked about so far. So in general lowd do nrexone is protective um and beneficial in cancer. Um according to the LDN book volume 2 this is in chapter 1 this is how he outlines it. So this is in his words many outward diseases are expressions of a malfunctioning immune system. Um obviously cancer included the immune system is regulated by endorphins which are which have a primary action on opioid receptors. opioid receptors, which is what LDN does, causes an upregulation in the production of endorphins. And this upregulation of endorphins acts as an immuno, an immuno modulatory way to correct immune system malfunction. So it LDN is a true immune system modulator. When the immune system is overactive or overresponding such as in autoimmune disease, it brings it down. When the immune system when you can think of the immune system as underacting or as not being able to control something like cancer or chronic infections, LDN helps to improve that functioning or bring it up if you will. Furthermore, the proliferation of cancer cells is mediated by a subtype of indorphins and this is specifically applicable in um most forms of cancer as well. People that are on LDN have higher levels as in count and activity of dendritic cells and natural killer cells and these are the cells which identify and kill cancer cells respectively. Research over many years has also demonstrated inhibition of a number of different human tumors by using lowdose nrexone and it's um been suggested that the increased endorphin and enkellin levels induced by LDN work directly on the tumor's opioid receptors. And then there's also evidence that LDN induces cancer cell death. So in all ways LDN in all of these ways LDN helps generally in cancer.