Cocaine addicts might be cured of their dependence by a vaccine that has blocked the drug’s “high” in laboratory studies.
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, USA, believe they have successfully produced a safe vaccine that can help cocaine addicts break their habit in a simple way.
The antibody immune response produced in lab mice by the vaccine bound to, and seized, cocaine molecules before the drug reached their brains.
It led to the prevention of any cocaine-related hyperactivity and the effect of the vaccine lasted for at least 13 weeks, the longest time point evaluated.
Writing in the online edition of Molecular Therapy and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, researcher Professor Ronald Crystal said it might also be useful in treating other addictions, such as to nicotine, heroin and other opiates.
“Our very dramatic data shows that we can protect mice against the effects of cocaine, and we think this approach could be very promising in fighting addiction in humans,” he said.
“While other attempts at producing immunity against cocaine have been tried, this is the first that will likely not require multiple, expensive infusions, and that can move quickly into human trials.
“An approach that works is desperately needed for cocaine addiction, which is an intransigent problem worldwide.”
The vaccine, which combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics cocaine, must be tested on humans, he said.
“The vaccine may help them kick the habit because if they use cocaine, an immune response will destroy the drug before it reaches the brain’s pleasure centre,” added Dr Crystal.
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