Opiate Antagonists for Chronic Pain: A Review on the Benefits of Low-Dose Naltrexone in Arthritis versus Non-Arthritic Diseases
Abstract
Chronic pain conditions create major financial and emotional burdens that can be devastating for individuals and society. One primary source of pain is arthritis, a common inflammatory disease of the joints that causes persistent pain in affected people. The main objective of pharmacological treatments for either rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA) is to reduce pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, and opioid antagonists have each been considered in the management of chronic pain in arthritis patients. Naltrexone is an oral-activated opioid antagonist with biphasic dose-dependent pharmacodynamic effects. The molecule acts as a competitive inhibitor of opioid receptors at high doses. However, naltrexone at low doses has been shown to have hormetic effects and provides relief for chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and inflammatory bowel disorders. Current knowledge of naltrexone suggests that low-dose treatments may be effective in the treatment of pain perception in chronic inflammatory conditions observed in patients with either RA or OA. In this review, we evaluated the therapeutic benefits of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) on arthritis-related pain conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 02, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.3390/biomedicines11061620
Entities
People
- Andre J van Wijnen
- Chungyoul Choe
- Fackson Mwale
- Hee‐Jeong Im
- Praneet Dara
- Zeba Farooqui
Organizations
- Des Moines University
- National Institutes of Health
- Sungkyunkwan University
- United States Department of Defense
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Vermont