This was a clinical trial with patients with Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, and IBD, not in remission, and not responding to conventional therapy was offered to initiate LDN as concomitant treatment. In total 47 IBD patients prescribed LDN were followed prospectively for 12 weeks.

Results: Low dose Naltrexone induced clinical improvement in 74.5%, and remission in 25.5% of patients. Naltrexone improved wound healing and reduced ER ( endoplasmic reticulum) stress induced by Tunicamycin, lipopolysaccharide, or bacteria in epithelial barriers. Inflamed mucosa from IBD patients showed high ER stress levels, which was reduced in patients treated with LDN. Conclusions: Naltrexone directly improves epithelial barrier function by improving wound healing and reducing mucosal ER stress levels. Low dose Naltrexone treatment is effective and safe and could be considered for the treatment of therapy refractory IBD patients.

Article https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29523156/