Advances in curbing the addiction to drugs has revealed a new vaccine that prevents the person from getting high. Could this prevent the downward spiral of addiction that follows relapse?
The only available results say that the vaccine decreases the amount of cocaine that reaches the brain. It triggers the immune system telling it that the drug is a foreign substance. The result is the immune system then attacks in the blood stream by creating antibodies to fight it. Once attacked in the blood stream, cocaine then passes through the kidneys and is excreted through the urine making it so the drug never reaches the brain. In time, antibody levels would rise and there will be less of a high every time cocaine is used.
Cocaine, the only drug found to have promising results with the vaccine, is a highly addictive drug that causes stimulation in the brain. It is also an appetite suppressant. This highly attractive drug is one of the most addictive, and life threatening. If a vaccine can prevent the return to full dependence after a relapse then millions of people will be given a second chance at life. Most importantly, the vaccine has no significant withdrawal symptoms are seen either.
Why is cocaine the only drug with a cure for its addiction? In the bloodstream there is cholinesterase that naturally helps to break cocaine down. The vaccine simply plays on this. There will be several other uses for a vaccine that cures addiction such as preventing fetuses from becoming contaminated and preventing high-risk teens from becoming addicted. These possible future uses are highly controversial. At the moment, helping those with the addiction is the focus for the vaccine.
Currently, a vaccine for nicotine addiction is being developed.
[Source: GoogleNews]
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