Dr. Weyrich's Naturopathic Functional Medicine Notebook
Overview
Please see
conventional, complementary, and alternative medical treatments
for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page.
Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:
Etiology
The most obvious cause of paralysis or muscle weakness is nerve damage due to trauma.
There are a number of other possibilities that must be considered as well:
Elevated urinary levels of 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA)
and other markers of dysbiotic overgrowth with
Clostridium spp. are common in muscle weakness and paralysis
[Shaw2008] [GP2008].
Diagnosis
Basal body temperature below 97.8 degrees F, elevated TSH, or depressed T3 (suggests
hypothyroidism).
According to the Low Dose Naltrexone home page [LDN], LDN has been seen to benefit
many different neurodegenerative diseases associated with autoimmune processes, including
Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease.
Although Dr. Weyrich is not aware of any reports of treating muscle weakness or paralysis
using LDN, Dr. Weyrich speculates that muscle weakness or paralysis may also respond to LDN.
Dr. Weyrich has been trained to use Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN).
However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of muscle weakness or paralysis
with LDN.
The bacteria Clostridium botulinum is known to produce a potent neurotoxin that causes
flaccid paralysis.
Many poorly characterized species of Clostridium are known to contribute to dysbiosis,
so it is reasonable to consider the possibility that some of these bacteria also might
produce neurotoxins capable of producing similar symptoms.
