Literature Review: Naltrexone: New Use for an Old Drug

The document from January 2018, "Literature Review: Naltrexone: New Use for an Old Drug," discussed the potential use of naltrexone, an opiate antagonist, as a treatment for lichen planopilaris (LPP), a variant of lichen planus that causes scarring hair loss. The paper highlighted four case reports by Dr. Jerry Shapiro at NYU, where low dose naltrexone (3mg daily) was used as an adjunctive therapy for LPP. The patients, two males and two females, had previously been on oral doxycycline and topical clobetasol solution. All four reported symptom improvement within 1-2 months of starting naltrexone, with no reported side effects. The paper concluded that the use of an old drug for a new purpose, especially with minimal side effects, was promising, although no drug had been FDA approved for LPP at the time.