After a year and a half, it looks like we've just had our first spam attack.
I've removed "helenyates23" from the group. Russ

----- Original Message -----
From: "helenyates23" <>
To: <infection-cortisol@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 6:31 PM
Subject: [infection-cortisol] Re: The Deeply Discounted Grocery Program
Worked!!!


> Re: The Deeply Discounted Grocery Program Worked!!!
>
> I want to share this amazing tip that I just received about the programs
> at

Re: The Deeply Discounted Grocery Program Worked!!!

I want to share this amazing tip that I just received about the programs at
http://savingmorethanbefore.com I went to the supermarket with my neighbor
two weeks ago and she left with an overflowing cart of groceries and non food
items and to my shock only had to pay $ 23.36. She told me how she joined the
program at the website above. As soon as I got home I joined the program as
well. Last night I went shopping for Thanksgiving. We are having 12 people
over as we do every year. My grocery bill for this holiday has always been
in the neighborhood of $ 250.00. Thanks to this wonderful program this years
bill was only $ 31.19! I am so excited I want to share this wonderful program
with everyone I can! I have to say that their wholesale mall is equally great. I
have never seen so many name brand products at such ridiculously low prices. I
just finished my Christmas shopping and I can't help but smile thinking how
little I spent!

----- Original Message -----

From: Hen & Yan

To: Infection&Cortisol

Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 12:33 PM

Subject: [infection-cortisol] LDN Petition in Scotland

An LDN support group in Scotland is petitioning their
Parliament to
investigate and fund trails for Low Dose Naltrexone. Anyone may
sign this petition, you do not have to be a resident.
http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=353

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Doesn't Promote Cancer

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers doesn't increase rheumatoid arthritis patients' risk of cancer, new research has found.

TNF is a substance secreted by immune cells that regulates the immune system and plays a role in inflammation. TNF blockers are immunosuppressants that reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis, but concerns have been raised that long-term use of the drugs may increase the risk of infections and cancer.

Swedish researchers analyzed data from 6,366 rheumatoid arthritis patients who started anti-TNF therapy with infliximab (Remicade), adalimumab (Humira) or etanercept (Enbrel) between January 1999 and July 2006. The study participants were compared with other groups of rheumatoid arthritis patients, including 61,160 not taking medications, 4,015 taking methotrexate (the gold standard of treatment) and 4,105 taking combinations of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (other than TNF blockers).

According to the study authors, 240 first cancers were diagnosed during follow-up among patients who had no history of cancer when they began anti-TNF treatment. Compared to rheumatoid arthritis patients who didn't take anti-TNF drugs or those with no history of cancer, the relative cancer risk of anti-TNF therapy was 1.00 and remained unchanged for those taking immunosuppressant drugs for up to six years, the researchers found.

"Our research indicates the overall cancer risk is the same for rheumatoid arthritis patients on immunosuppressant therapies and those not taking medications for the disease," confirmed team leader Dr. Johan Askling, of the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, in a news release. However, "given several uncertainties, continued vigilance remains prudent."

The study is published in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Cholesterol Drugs May Help Prevent Flu Deaths

According to the researchers, a growing body of evidence suggests that statins -- which include medicines such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor -- can reduce death from severe infections. Whether they help with flu, however, has been more uncertain.

"Statins may have a role in reducing mortality from influenza, but our findings do not justify broader use of statins without confirming these findings in the setting of randomized controlled trials," said study author Dr. Ann R. Thomas, from the Emerging Infections Program at the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division in Portland.

"Statins may have a benefit, in conjunction with vaccine and antivirals, in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with influenza, likely due to their effect of reducing the body's inflammatory response to influenza infection," she added.

The results of the study are to be presented Friday at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting in Philadelphia.

For the study, Thomas' team looked at the outcomes of hospitalized influenza patients over two flu seasons.

The researchers found that patients who were taking statins were more likely to be older, male, white or Asian with underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease. In addition, they were more likely to have had a flu shot.

While those with cardiovascular disease were more likely to die, those who received statins while in the hospital were less likely to die.

Whether statins are also effective in preventing deaths from the H1N1 swine flu is not known, Thomas said. "Our data are from the 2007-2008 influenza season, well before novel H1N1 emerged, so no one knows for sure if statins would reduce mortality from H1N1," she said.

"However, since the likely mechanism of statins in reducing mortality is their general effect of down-regulating the immune system, it is plausible that statins might be useful in treating influenza infections due to novel H1N1," she noted.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, said that the study "is of limited value."

Siegel believes it's statins' ability to prevent death from heart disease and not any benefit against flu that results in fewer deaths among those taking these drugs.

"Influenza increases your risk of dying from heart disease. At the same time, statins reduce your risk of dying from heart disease. So, it's not surprising to find that there are fewer deaths among those taking statins," Siegel said.

"You can't conclude from this study that people with influenza should take statins," he said. "Statins are protective in a situation where the heart is at risk, even influenza -- that, I'll buy."

Hi Garcia,
Thanks for the critique of my hypothesis. I'm still learning about
naltrexone, and will write more soon. Russ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Garcia" <jgarcia3788@...>
To: <infection-cortisol@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 4:10 AM
Subject: [infection-cortisol] Re: Cravings, cortisol, & naltrexone;
brain-storming


> Hi Russ,
> fascinating info. I think your original assumption is correct, that LDN
> boosts the immune system & lowers cortisol (the immune system boosting
> may be direct rather than as a result of cortisol lowering per se).
>
> It is true that naltrexone raises cortisol levels, but my understanding
> is that is because naltrexone and LDN (paradoxically) have opposite
> effects. Naltrexone causes an opioid blockade on the body, so will block
> the body's endogenous supply of opioids. Opioids get sent to zero, and
> cortisol rises.
>
> With the LDN there is merely a temporary blockade on the opioid
> receptors. The body responds by increasing its own endogenous supply. In
> other words naltrexone lowers opioids, but LDN raises opioids. So if we
> know (e.g. from pubmed studies) that Naltrexone (blocks opiods &) raises
> cortisol, it is entirely consistent that LDN (increases opiods &) lowers
> cortisol.
>
> Could that explain the paradox?
>
> garcia.
>
>
> --- In infection-cortisol@yahoogroups.com, "Russ Farris" <russ@...>
> wrote:
>>
>> This is a long account of the reading and brainstorming I've been
> doing since Garcia and Yannic got me interested in low-dose naltrexone
> (LDN) last week.
>>     I've been trying to find some mechanism that would explain the
> panacea-like effects that have been claimed for LDN. I assumed that LDN
> boosted immune system performance by lowering cortisol levels, but that
> doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, naltrexone appears to raise
> cortisol levels, although for how long, and under what circumstances,
> I'm not sure.
>>         Tonight I came across the term cue-induced cortisol. Plugging
> that term into www.PubMed.gov  got 10 hits, including the abstract
> below, which suggests that just thinking about alcohol raises cortisol
> levels in alcoholics.
>>         In The Potbelly Syndrome (p. 119), we described a study by
> Mclean, Barr, and Prior that suggested that just thinking about food
> raises cortisol levels. That was kind of perplexing because I was pretty
> sure that it was the other way around, i.e., it was cortisol that made
> us think of food. But maybe not.
>>         What if cravings--food, alcohol, cocaine, love, or
> whatever--raise our cortisol levels? What if cortisol actually helps us
> cope with cravings? There is a book called Rethinking Homeostasis that
> suggests that cortisol's main role is to help us deal with the outside
> world by making changes to our inner world. What if naltrexone raises
> our cortisol levels and the extra cortisol helps us cope with cravings,
> just as it helps us cope with other stresses? That's what appears to be
> happening.
>>         The anecdotal and PubMed information on LDN suggests that it
> raises cortisol levels and boosts our immune systems. Cortisol, though,
> is a famous immune suppressor. I've been fretting for days trying to
> figure out this apparent paradox.
>>         Here is a brief thought experiment. Naltrexone works by
> blocking opiod receptors. What if it also blocks cortisol receptors?
> That would produce cortisol resistance, and cortisol would not have its
> usual effects on cortisol-resistant cells, just as insulin doesn't have
> its usual effects on insulin-resistant cells.
>>         If low-dose naltrexone makes immune cells cortisol resistant,
> this would raise blood cortisol levels just the way insulin resistance
> raises insulin levels. The extra cortisol wouldn't affect the
> cortisol-resistant immune cells, so they would continue to eat germs and
> kill cancer cells.
>>         Not all kinds of cells become insulin resistant, and it's
> unlikely that all kinds of cells become cortisol resistant. Cells that
> remain cortisol-sensitive would be getting extra cortisol. Who knows
> what they are doing to or for people taking LDN?!
>>         Is there any evidence that naltrexone makes cells cortisol
> resistant? Some. Cortisol makes liver and muscle cells insulin
> resistant. If naltrexone blocks cortisol receptors on liver and muscle
> cells, then we would expect naltrexone to reduce insulin resistance. And
> it does, at least in women with PCOS. Naltrexone has widespread and
> little-studied effects on the endocrine and immune systems.
>>         I hope you all find this as interesting as I do. Russ
> www.potbellysyndrome.com
>> =========================
>> Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Mar;31(3):395-403.
>>
>> Stress-induced and alcohol cue-induced craving in recently abstinent
> alcohol-dependent individuals.
>> Fox HC, Bergquist KL, Hong KI, Sinha R.
>>
>> Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine,
> Substance Abuse Center, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven,
> Connecticut 06519, USA. helen.fox@...
>>
>> BACKGROUND: Research has shown that exposure to stress/negative affect
> and to alcohol cues can each increase alcohol craving and relapse
> susceptibility in alcohol-dependent individuals. However, whether the
> emotional and physiological states associated with stress-induced and
> alcohol cue-induced craving are comparable has not been well studied.
> Therefore, this study examined the craving, emotional, and physiological
> responses to stress and to alcohol cues in treatment-engaged, 4-week
> abstinent, alcohol-dependent individuals using analogous stress and
> alcohol cue imagery methods. METHOD: Twenty treatment-seeking,
> alcohol-dependent participants (18 males/2 females) were exposed to a
> brief 5-minute guided imagery procedure that involved imagining a recent
> personal stressful situation, a personal alcohol cue-related situation,
> and a neutral-relaxing situation, 1 imagery per session presented in
> random order. Alcohol craving, anxiety and emotion rating scales,
> cardiovascular measures, and salivary cortisol were compared across the
> 3 conditions. RESULTS: Exposure to stress and to alcohol cues each
> produced significant increases in alcohol craving, anxiety, and negative
> emotions and decreases in positive emotions. Stress-induced alcohol
> craving was significantly correlated with increases in sadness, anger,
> and anxiety ratings, but alcohol cue-induced craving was associated with
> decreases in positive affect (joy and neutral relaxed state) and
> increases in anxiety and fear ratings. Furthermore, stress increased
> systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses, but significant
> increases in salivary cortisol were only observed in the alcohol cue
> condition. CONCLUSIONS: Although both stress and alcohol cues produce
> increases in anxiety associated with alcohol craving, each produced a
> dissociable psychobiological state involving subjective emotional,
> cardiovascular, and cortisol responses. These data could have
> significant implications for understanding the specific psychobiology
> associated with stress or alcohol cue exposure and their potential
> effects on alcohol relapse susceptibility.
>>
>> PMID: 17295723
>>
>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17295723?
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

----- Original Message -----

From: Hen & Yan

To: Infection&Cortisol

Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 8:47 AM

Subject: [infection-cortisol] Homemade LDN

http://goodshape.net/HomemadeLDN.html

 

There could be several reasons why some people may want to make their own LDN: Often their Doctors will not prescribe LDN; Homemade LDN costs only $10/month; There are no Pharmacy mistakes in Homemade LDN; There are no capsule "filler" problems and experiments can be conducted with different dose quantities.

. . . .

Hi Russ,
fascinating info. I think your original assumption is correct, that LDN
boosts the immune system & lowers cortisol (the immune system boosting
may be direct rather than as a result of cortisol lowering per se).

It is true that naltrexone raises cortisol levels, but my understanding
is that is because naltrexone and LDN (paradoxically) have opposite
effects. Naltrexone causes an opioid blockade on the body, so will block
the body's endogenous supply of opioids. Opioids get sent to zero, and
cortisol rises.

With the LDN there is merely a temporary blockade on the opioid
receptors. The body responds by increasing its own endogenous supply. In
other words naltrexone lowers opioids, but LDN raises opioids. So if we
know (e.g. from pubmed studies) that Naltrexone (blocks opiods &) raises
cortisol, it is entirely consistent that LDN (increases opiods &) lowers
cortisol.

Could that explain the paradox?

garcia.


--- In infection-cortisol@yahoogroups.com, "Russ Farris" <russ@...>
wrote:
>
> This is a long account of the reading and brainstorming I've been
doing since Garcia and Yannic got me interested in low-dose naltrexone
(LDN) last week.
>     I've been trying to find some mechanism that would explain the
panacea-like effects that have been claimed for LDN. I assumed that LDN
boosted immune system performance by lowering cortisol levels, but that
doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, naltrexone appears to raise
cortisol levels, although for how long, and under what circumstances,
I'm not sure.
>         Tonight I came across the term cue-induced cortisol. Plugging
that term into www.PubMed.gov  got 10 hits, including the abstract
below, which suggests that just thinking about alcohol raises cortisol
levels in alcoholics.
>         In The Potbelly Syndrome (p. 119), we described a study by
Mclean, Barr, and Prior that suggested that just thinking about food
raises cortisol levels. That was kind of perplexing because I was pretty
sure that it was the other way around, i.e., it was cortisol that made
us think of food. But maybe not.
>         What if cravings--food, alcohol, cocaine, love, or
whatever--raise our cortisol levels? What if cortisol actually helps us
cope with cravings? There is a book called Rethinking Homeostasis that
suggests that cortisol's main role is to help us deal with the outside
world by making changes to our inner world. What if naltrexone raises
our cortisol levels and the extra cortisol helps us cope with cravings,
just as it helps us cope with other stresses? That's what appears to be
happening.
>         The anecdotal and PubMed information on LDN suggests that it
raises cortisol levels and boosts our immune systems. Cortisol, though,
is a famous immune suppressor. I've been fretting for days trying to
figure out this apparent paradox.
>         Here is a brief thought experiment. Naltrexone works by
blocking opiod receptors. What if it also blocks cortisol receptors?
That would produce cortisol resistance, and cortisol would not have its
usual effects on cortisol-resistant cells, just as insulin doesn't have
its usual effects on insulin-resistant cells.
>         If low-dose naltrexone makes immune cells cortisol resistant,
this would raise blood cortisol levels just the way insulin resistance
raises insulin levels. The extra cortisol wouldn't affect the
cortisol-resistant immune cells, so they would continue to eat germs and
kill cancer cells.
>         Not all kinds of cells become insulin resistant, and it's
unlikely that all kinds of cells become cortisol resistant. Cells that
remain cortisol-sensitive would be getting extra cortisol. Who knows
what they are doing to or for people taking LDN?!
>         Is there any evidence that naltrexone makes cells cortisol
resistant? Some. Cortisol makes liver and muscle cells insulin
resistant. If naltrexone blocks cortisol receptors on liver and muscle
cells, then we would expect naltrexone to reduce insulin resistance. And
it does, at least in women with PCOS. Naltrexone has widespread and
little-studied effects on the endocrine and immune systems.
>         I hope you all find this as interesting as I do. Russ
www.potbellysyndrome.com
> =========================
> Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Mar;31(3):395-403.
>
> Stress-induced and alcohol cue-induced craving in recently abstinent
alcohol-dependent individuals.
> Fox HC, Bergquist KL, Hong KI, Sinha R.
>
> Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine,
Substance Abuse Center, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven,
Connecticut 06519, USA. helen.fox@...
>
> BACKGROUND: Research has shown that exposure to stress/negative affect
and to alcohol cues can each increase alcohol craving and relapse
susceptibility in alcohol-dependent individuals. However, whether the
emotional and physiological states associated with stress-induced and
alcohol cue-induced craving are comparable has not been well studied.
Therefore, this study examined the craving, emotional, and physiological
responses to stress and to alcohol cues in treatment-engaged, 4-week
abstinent, alcohol-dependent individuals using analogous stress and
alcohol cue imagery methods. METHOD: Twenty treatment-seeking,
alcohol-dependent participants (18 males/2 females) were exposed to a
brief 5-minute guided imagery procedure that involved imagining a recent
personal stressful situation, a personal alcohol cue-related situation,
and a neutral-relaxing situation, 1 imagery per session presented in
random order. Alcohol craving, anxiety and emotion rating scales,
cardiovascular measures, and salivary cortisol were compared across the
3 conditions. RESULTS: Exposure to stress and to alcohol cues each
produced significant increases in alcohol craving, anxiety, and negative
emotions and decreases in positive emotions. Stress-induced alcohol
craving was significantly correlated with increases in sadness, anger,
and anxiety ratings, but alcohol cue-induced craving was associated with
decreases in positive affect (joy and neutral relaxed state) and
increases in anxiety and fear ratings. Furthermore, stress increased
systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses, but significant
increases in salivary cortisol were only observed in the alcohol cue
condition. CONCLUSIONS: Although both stress and alcohol cues produce
increases in anxiety associated with alcohol craving, each produced a
dissociable psychobiological state involving subjective emotional,
cardiovascular, and cortisol responses. These data could have
significant implications for understanding the specific psychobiology
associated with stress or alcohol cue exposure and their potential
effects on alcohol relapse susceptibility.
>
> PMID: 17295723
>
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17295723?
>

----- Original Message -----

From: Hen & Yan

To: infection-cortisol@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 1:28 AM

Subject: [infection-cortisol] Making headway against automimmune diseases with LDN

http://www.63ok.com/health-fitness-blog/making-headway-against-autoimmune-diseases-with-low-dose-naltrexone/

 

Inner Circle interview with Burton Berkson, MD, PhD