The 2nd European LDN Conference website is now open.

Visit www.BIGONLDN2010.com to see the agenda and register for the conference.

The following report summaries the proceedings of the First European LDN Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland on the 25th of April 2009. The conference sessions were also recorded and videos will be available soon.

LDN Conference Report

The conference was opened by Linda Elsegood from the LDN research Trust who outlined her own experience with MS and the great response she had to LDN. This very positive response led to her setting up the charity dedicated to supporting and encouraging research into LDN in the UK. Linda announced that the charity has raised £22,000 to date although has yet to find a research project to support.

Dr Tom Gilhooly gave a resume of the research on LDN published to date including animal and human studies. The first publication on low dose naltrexone was an animal study by Prof Ian Zagon from Penn State University in 1981. He is still active in LDN research and is currently preparing for publication some very exciting animal research on MS which confirms the efficacy of LDN in the animal model for MS. Significantly, this study was funded by the MS Society of America giving a clear message to the only accredited funders in the UK.

Five disease areas have been subject to publications on LDN in human studies. The most recent was a ten patient pilot study on Fibromyalgia published in Pain Medicine in April 2009. This showed significant improvements in pain and mental health in six out of ten patients.

The study of primary progressive multiple sclerosis by Maria Gironi from Milan was published in 2008 showing a reduction in spasticity and minimal side effects. The patient funded MS study from University of California on Dr Bruce Cree showed improvements in quality of life but has not yet been published. The very impressive Crohn’s disease pilot study from Penn State was outlined as well a study showing improvements in quality of life among patients with haematological cancers. A study in irritable bowel syndrome has also been published showing positive effects of LDN.

Pharmacist Stephen Dickson gave a very interesting outline of the challenges he has faced in trying to supply LDN to patients in the UK. The saga of LDN capsules being impounded and then destroyed by Customs, as the MHRA decided that foreign imports were no longer allowed, was shared with a very interested audience. Despite the difficulties with dealing with the various regulatory bodies, he is committed to continuing to deliver this service to patients throughout the UK.

Dr Burt Berkson delivered a brilliant lecture on his treatment of cancer with LDN and intravenous alpha lipoic acid. Dr Berkson has published several remarkable case studies and he illustrates the results of treatment with PET and CT scan images which show the effect of this treatment on even very advanced cancers. He recently presented these cases to the National Institute of Cancer in America to great acclaim and is planning more extensive research soon.

Mr Joseph Wouk gave an impassioned performance where he described his own LDN experience which has resulted in almost complete disappearance of his symptoms. Joe has written a book about his experience called Google LDN which is available from Amazon and also online. Joe finished off his talk with a video of Pink Floyd which completed his presentation of “Saving Lives, One at a time”.

Dr Phil Boyle from the Galway Fertility Centre, described the incredible fertility work that is carried out at this centre which included LDN in many cases. Although predominately a fertility clinic, Phil has had requests for LDN from many patients with MS and other autoimmune conditions. He reassured the audience that LDN is safe in pregnancy having had fifty healthy babies born to mothers who took LDN throughout the pregnancy. Not only that but he feels LDN greatly improves pregnancy outcomes and reduces risk of prematurity. LDN is also useful in treating endometriosis and polycystic ovarian disease. Dr Boyle made the point that LDN works best when given alongside appropriate nutritional support including vitamin D and omega 3.

Dr Tom Gilhooly then outlined the progress with the Tyscore assay which measures immune activity which has now reached the stage where it is ready to be validated against other standard measures of oxidative stress. He also updated the conference on progress with the application for funding for the LDN MS study and on a new study on Autism which will be a joint effort between the Autism Treatment Trust and The Essential Health Clinic.

The conference concluded with an expert panel discussion where Dr Bert Berkson, Dr Bob Lawerence, Dr Pat Crowley and Skip Lenz - a pharmacist from Florida, answered questions on LDN from the audience.

There was a lively discussion and numerous interesting points raised including timing of LDN dose. The tradition of always dosing a night was called into question by both Stephen Dickson and Dr Tom Gilhooly, who find no difference in clinical outcomes with morning dosing but better compliance and less side effects. Skip Lenz whose pharmacy supplies over 20,000 patients said he was “ an old Bihari guy” who stuck to night time dosing as there was evidence of a greater endorphin peak at night. It was mentioned that Prof Zagon felt that timing of dose was not important to clinical efficacy as long as the drug was only taken once daily.

A very successful first European LDN conference ended with the announcement that next years conference will also be held in Glasgow on 23rd and 24th April 2010. It will include one day which will be purely medical/scientific and an open day similar in format to this conference.

Next year’s conference will be addressed by the author of the first paper on LDN in 1981, Prof Ian Zagon.

Delegates can pre-register here 2010 European LDN Conference pre-register

Here are some directions & access information, plus some pictures of the LDN Conference Venue - the Western Infirmary Lecture Theatre. Access is via University Place, off Byres Road. Free Parking is available on University Place and there is also a drop off point outside the Lecture Theatre and disabled parking at the entrance. If parking on University place, follow the route marked on foot.

From the Conference Hotel -The City Inn - take Finnieston street to Argyll street, turn left onto Argyll street and proceed along to Byres road, turn right into Byres Road, then right again into University Place.

We have had several requests from delegates to speak at the conference. As the current agenda is already set, it has been difficult to accomodate these requests. We are lucky to have some of the most experienced practitioners and patients among the audience and are keen to harness this experience on the day.

In an effort to do this, we have added a plenary session at the end of the day where we hope to have an expert panel who will respond to questions from the audience. It will also be an opportunity for those who wish to speak to make their points. The session will last approximately one hour although this may not be enough time to accomodate everyone.

Next years conference will be over two days and will include small group workshops so this will not be the only chance to contribute to the LDN debate.

Good Morning

Further to your call I am pleased to offer the rate of £95 single occupancy and £105 double occupancy including full cooked breakfast for your event on 25th April. The rate will be valid also for 24th & 26th.

We will continue to offer this rate subject to availability until 10th April at which time the rate will be released, after this time we cannot guarantee the rate will be available.

Please ask guests to quote group code WES240409 to ensure they are offered the correct rate

Kind Regards
Shirlene

Shirlene Fawkes
Reservations Manager
City Inn Glasgow
Finnieston Quay
Glasgow G3 8HN
tel: +44 (0)14 1227 1026
fax: +44 (0)14 1227 1036
www.cityinn.com

Access information for the Western Infirmary Lecture Theatre is provided in the following documents:

Campus Map

Accessibility map: University Avenue - Western Infirmary

The First European LDN Conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland on 25th April, 2009.

Agenda

10.00 am - Introduction - Dr Tom Gilhooly, Essential Health Clinic Glasgow

10.05 am - LDN Personal experience - Linda Elsegood, LDN Research Trust

10.20 am - LDN Research Summary - Dr Tom Gilhooly

11.00 am - Coffee break

11.30 am - LDN Dispensing in UK - Mr Stephen Dickson, Dickson’s Pharmacy Glasgow

12.10 pm - LDN treatment in Cancer - Dr Burt Berkson, Center For Integrative Medicine, New Mexico

1.00 pm - Lunch

2.00 pm - Google LDN - Mr Joseph Wouk – Author

2.40 pm - LDN use in Fertility - Dr Phil Boyle, Fertility Specialist, Galway Clinic

3.10 pm - Coffee break

3.30 pm – LDN in Chronic Fatigue – Eileen Munro – Author

3.50 pm - Future for LDN - Dr Tom Gilhooly

4.00 pm - Plenary session with expert panel

5.00 pm - Close

The First European LDN Conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland on 25th April, 2009.

The conference venue is Glasgow University, Western Infirmary Lecture Theatre. Glasgow G11 6NT