Alpha Lipoic Acid & Naltrexone

Another day, another treatment to add to my ongoing battle with colorectal cancer. Having tolerated high dose Vitamin C, its time to up the ante with Alpha Lipoic Acid IV in combination with Low dose Naltrexone.

Naltrexone

Naltrexone is a drug typicaly used to treat alcohol and opioid addiction. It is an opioid receptor antagonist. Higher doses can cause liver damage, however Low dose, 4.5mg of Naltrexone is considered safe for daily use. Naltrexone is being used off-label by many Integrative Medicine clinics as an adjuvant cancer therapy. The following have been suggested as its possible methods of action on cancer:

1. Increasing the level of the endorphin metenkephalin and beta endorphin in the blood stream.

2. Increasing the number and density of opiate receptors on tumour cell membranes, making them more responsive to the growth inhibiting effects of endorphins. These induce apoptosis (cell death) in the cancer cells.

3. Increasing the natural killer (NK) cell numbers, the NK cell activity and lymphocyte activated CD8 numbers, which are responsive to increased levels of endorphins.

I am starting with 2.25mg of Naltrexone and will increase the dose to 4.5mg in a week’s time.
Note: these are non standard concentrations, and will need to be made up by a compounding Chemist.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

Alpha Lipoic Acid is an antioxidant and is present in every cell. It it is made by the body and helps to convert glucose into energy.

ALA is believed to increase the mitochondria respiration and trigger apoptosis in cancer cells through oxidation. In some cancer types, ALA can also inhibit cell division in the G0 and G1 phase.

ALA acts as a chelating agent and can remove heavy metals, such as Mercury, from the body.

Alpha lipoic acid also inhibits an enzyme known as matrix metalloproteinase. This enzyme breaks down cell structures, allowing cancer cells to invade healthy tissue resulting in the formation of metastasis. It has been shown that ALA can retard the spread of metastasis.

Resources

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15843897
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12548552
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18435927
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_cancer.htm