SynthesisCurrent pain and headache reports2020
Low-Dose Naltrexone for Chronic Pain: Update and Systemic Review.
Synthesis in Current pain and headache reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 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
36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fibromyalgia: an update on clinical characteristics, aetiopathogenesis and treatment.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of Low-Dose Naltrexone in Women With Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A 12-Month Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Single-Centre Clinical Trial (INNOVA Study).European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Trial
- Shared effects of the opioid antagonist naltrexone on first-hand and empathic pain.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Trial
- Pilot RCT comparing low-dose naltrexone, gabapentin and placebo to reduce pain among people with HIV with alcohol problems.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Acute Foot Drop in the Initial Presentation of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.European journal of rheumatology · 2026Article
- Dissolving Microneedles with Smart Design-A Tool for Enhancing Skin Permeation of Naltrexone Hydrochloride.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Low-Dose Naltrexone in Chronic Pain Management: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Clinical Implications.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Review
- Repurposed Systemic Pharmacologic Agents in Chronic Pain: Emerging Mechanistic and Clinical Insights.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Neuroinflammation and Pediatric Chronic Pain - A Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Review
- Chronic Pain in Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanisms, Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Novel Insights into the Management of Painful Trigeminal Neuropathy: Targeting Peripheral and Central Pathomechanisms.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Low dose naltrexone for fibromyalgia: case series demonstrating pain relief and other health benefits.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Review
- Current and Evolving Concepts in the Management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- 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
- [Additional experience with medicinal treatment of trigeminal nerve pain].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Article
- Deciphering nociplastic pain: clinical features, risk factors and potential mechanisms.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2024Review
- Alcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain: An Overlooked Epidemic.The American journal of psychiatry · 2024Review
- Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological Approaches for the Management of Neuropathic Pain in Multiple Sclerosis.CNS drugs · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purpose of reviewThe purpose of this review is to evaluate and explain our current understanding of the clinical use of low-dose naltrexone in the treatment of chronic pain. RECENT
findingsRecent pre-clinical uses and clinical studies further elucidate the use of low-dose naltrexone in the treatment of chronic pain. Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has shown promise to reduce symptoms related to chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel conditions, and multiple sclerosis. The mechanism of LDN appears to be modulation of neuro-inflammation, specifically, the modulation of the glial cells and release of inflammatory chemicals in the central nervous system. These effects appear to unique at low dosage compared to dosage for food and drug administration approved use for alcohol and opioid dependence. We review the evidence that LDN has shown more than promise and should be further investigated in clinical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.