mhudnall and Dr Berkson

[Upbeat]

I have waiting to see furter posts on your treatment with Dr Berkson.  How has it been going?  His work with Alpha Lipoic Acid and I believe LDN peeked my interest.   You were giving updated reports on your viral load and alt ast numbers.  Its been awhile and just curious as to where you stand now.

[mhudnall]

My doc had me take pepsin/betaine capsules sandwiched between bites of food at every meal for my ulcers. Those digestive proteolytic enzymes chewed up the H pylori and the ulcers disappeared. I know I told you that before, but I thought I should repeat it because it really worked well for me, even without antibiotics.

Great that you are a month into LDN. Do some labs at three months, and give it some time to work before you do another fibrosure. I wouldn't be surprised to see you improve your score. I'm sure your labs will look great.

Best regards,

Mike H

[Bali05]

Mike,

I keep my fingers crossed for your labs and Fibroscan.

Just waiting to see it all come back great and than someone

saying FibroScan was not accurate enough.

Got my first LDN refill today so I am on it for the first month.

The IVs are helping a lot but expensive. I will let you know when my labs are due

For now I am fighting these duodendal ulcers that screw up my digestion,

sleep ect...  Not great for immune system. But at least I know what

has been terrorizing my life for the past 6 months.


Bali05

[mikesimon]

Done.
Mike

[mhudnall]

Mike,

A lot of people claim that there is no science behind naltrexone. This is not the case. If you would like to see some of what is out there I would be glad to send them to you.

Here's one study, but there are more:

Naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, attenuates liver fibrosis in bile duct ligated rats.

Gut. 2006 Nov;55(11):1606-16. Epub 2006 Mar 16.

Ebrahimkhani MR, Kiani S, Oakley F, Kendall T, Shariftabrizi A, Tavangar SM, Moezi L, Payabvash S, Karoon A, Hoseininik H, Mann DA, Moore KP, Mani AR, Dehpour AR.
The UCL Institute of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, Rowland Hill St, London NW3 2PF, UK.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that the opioid system is involved in the development of hepatic fibrosis.

METHODS: The effect of naltrexone (an opioid receptor antagonist) on hepatic fibrosis in bile duct ligated (BDL) or sham rats was assessed by histology and hepatic hydroxyproline levels. Liver matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) was measured by zymography, and alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and CD45 (leucocyte common antigen) by immunohistochemistry. The redox state of the liver was assessed by hepatic glutathione (GSH)/oxidised glutathione (GSSG) and S-nitrosothiol levels. Subtypes of opioid receptors in cultured hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were characterised by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and the effects of selective delta opioid receptor agonists on cellular proliferation, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), and procollagen I expression in HSCs determined.

RESULTS: Naltrexone markedly attenuated the development of hepatic fibrosis as well as MMP-2 activity (p<0.01), and decreased the number of activated HSCs in BDL rats (p<0.05). The development of biliary cirrhosis altered the redox state with a decreased hepatic GSH/GSSG ratio and increased concentrations of hepatic S-nitrosothiols, which were partially or completely normalised by treatment with naltrexone, respectively. Activated rat HSCs exhibited expression of delta1 receptors, with increased procollagen I expression, and increased TIMP-1 expression in response to delta(1) and delta(2) agonists, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate that administration of an opioid antagonist prevents the development of hepatic fibrosis in cirrhosis. Opioids can influence liver fibrogenesis directly via the effect on HSCs and regulation of the redox sensitive mechanisms in the liver.

PMID: 16543289 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Send me a private message with your regular email address and will send you some files as attachments. If you're not interested, no problem.

[mhudnall]

Hey Mike,

Okay, I have a phone consultation set up with my doc for when my labs come in-around Labor Day weekend (I just gave blood yesterday). I will ask him to order a fibroscan. It's just money, but you are right, it will do no harm, so why not?

However, I do disagree that my labs are simply me "feeling good". Huge improvements in viral load, enzymes, and clotting times are not subjective.

I'll let you know.

Mike H

[Upbeat]

You people that put down Dr Berkson's approach need to look at his results. Its all there for you to see and has been for over 30 years. There is an old saying that there is more than one way to skin a cat.  These trials are biased.  When you have to exclude a group because they may not repond the way you want  how can you know what the real results are?