ArticleBMJ case reports2020
Low-dose naltrexone as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome.
Article in BMJ case reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary Supplementation for Fatigue Symptoms in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)-A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Long term outcomes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in post covid condition: longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Impact of extended release naltrexone on health-related quality of life in individuals with legal involvement and opioid use disorders.Substance abuse · 2021Trial
- Low-Dose Naltrexone: What is the Evidence? A Narrative Review.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- Persistent prostaglandin E2 upregulation and hormonal multi-resistance: A hypothesis for long COVID.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Pathophysiological mechanisms of fatigue and multidisciplinary management strategies (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- Use and Perceived Helpfulness of Different Intervention Strategies in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Depression.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- An Overview of Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Insights into potential therapeutic approaches for long COVID.Frontiers of medicine · 2025Article
- Efficacy and safety of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Review
- Low-Dose naltrexone restored TRPM3 ion channel function in natural killer cells from long COVID patients.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2025Article
- Efficacy of a multi-nutrient dietary supplement on improving decision fatigue in video gamers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Real-World Effectiveness and Tolerability of Low Dose Naltrexone to Treat Chronic Pain: A Retrospective Cohort Study of One Pain Physician's Practice.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- [Interdisciplinary, collaborative D-A-CH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) consensus statement concerning the diagnostic and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome].Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2024Article
- Molecular cross-talk between long COVID-19 and Alzheimer's disease.GeroScience · 2024Review
- Low-dose naltrexone for post-COVID fatigue syndrome: a study protocol for a double-blind, randomised trial in British Columbia.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Low-dose naltrexone and NAD+ for the treatment of patients with persistent fatigue symptoms after COVID-19.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Advancing Research and Treatment: An Overview of Clinical Trials in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Future Perspectives.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Overlapping conditions in Long COVID at a multisite academic center.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Naltrexone is used as an off-label treatment in low doses for several chronic immune-modulated disorders in many countries. Although only small-scale clinical trials have been performed, these suggest efficacy in several diseases including Crohn's disease, fibromyalgia and Gulf War Illness. Despite numerous internet reports of response to low-dose naltrexone (LDN), no clinical trials exist in people with chronic fatigue syndrome. This condition is characterised by chronic profound fatigue, postexertional malaise, pain and autonomic and neurocognitive disturbances. This series of three case reports compiled by people with long-term ill-health due to chronic fatigue syndrome shows the range of responses they observed when taking LDN, from life changing to a reduction in some symptoms only. Treatment doses ranged from 4 to 12 mg. Clinical trials may be warranted to explore the potential use of naltrexone in people with these debilitating illnesses which currently have no licensed treatments available.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.