Also, opioids appear to activate the immune system, which is why an opion receptor antagonist/blocker (like low dose Naltrexone) are helpful with several auto-immune diseases. Use of opioid pain killers might also exacerbate auto-immune conditions, though I would have to research this.
I believe the mechanism of LDN is to suppress endorphin metabolism for a couple of hours only, which causes a rebound increase in endogenous endorphin metabolism during the rest of the night and day. That this helps with pain syndromes is to be expected, I think, but apparently it also strengthens parts of the immune system (for example, LDN has been used with good results for HIV infection), which also helps with various autoimmune conditions.
Why is this the case? According to LDN proponents, there is evidence that various autoimmune diseases are better understood as caused by immunodeficiencies, specifically in the immunoregulatory and supervisory components of the immune system, and that these are often ties to endorphin deficiency. Increasing and normalizing endorphin metabolism via LDN apparently upregulates some of these deficient immune components.
It would be interesting to know more about the role of SIRT genes in various components of the immune system, and how resveratrol might conceivably alter or disregulate these.
Edited by viveutvivas, 12 September 2010 - 03:15 AM.