Microbiology/Genetics

Scientists Have Developed an Anti-Cocaine Vaccine!

Soon, one against methamphetamine

By Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

22nd of June 2007, 11:04 GMT

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Drugs are even more deadly than viruses. So, why not a vaccine against them? That's what a team at Baylor College of Medicine, Canada, has developed: two novel vaccines designed to fight cocaine and methamphetamine dependencies. The new vaccines not only relieve addiction but also decrease withdrawal symptoms.

The vaccines enhance body's ability to synthesize antibodies

which then attack the drug while found in the blood stream on its way to the brain. This way, the chemical does not reach the brain, impeding the events that create dependency.

"These are therapeutic, not preventative, vaccines. They are meant for those who are already suffering from drug addiction." said lead researcher Dr. Thomas Kosten, Jay H. Waggoner Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Menninger Department of Psychiatry at BCM and research director of the Veteran Affairs national Substance Use Disorders Quality Enhancement Research Initiative.

"While the vaccines have been shown to help overcome drug addictions, they do not necessarily curb relapse. This is not a stand-alone treatment. There is a reason drugs were used in the first place, and that needs to be dealt with either through counseling or behavioral therapies." said Kosten.

TA-CD, the cocaine vaccine, involves a three-month treatment and various injections. The tested subjects started to react favorably to the vaccine after approximately a month. Before being sent for FDA approval process, TA-CD will be tested on a large scale human study.

"The vaccine slowly decreases the amount of cocaine that reaches the brain. It's a slow process, and patients do not go through any significant withdrawal symptoms." said Kosten.

After the TA-CD treatment, antibody levels remained constant for another nine months. Supplementary injections were subsequently made every four to eight weeks, if needed at all. The methamphetamine vaccine in still in initial states of testing and by now has produced similar results to TA-CD. The principles of both vaccines are similar (a boost of the antibody production), but each one presents a different protein build-up, targeting its specific drug.

TAGS:

drug | vaccine | cocaine | methamphetamine

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