A new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry states that cocaine vaccine ‘reduces use of the drug by raising anti-cocaine antibody levels in the blood, thereby inactivating the cocaine before it enters the brain and gives the user a high.’ Dr. Thomas Kosten, the report’s senior writer, ‘has been trying to develop a viable cocaine vaccine for 15 years. He began his research in animals, and shifted to humans several years ago, seeking to launch trials in Europe. Work on the latest Yale/Baylor trial began five years ago.’

Today, a new cocaine vaccine in clinical trial has shown promise in reducing use among addicts and could serve as vital treatment for some 2 million Americans dependent on the drug. ‘A vaccine to treat cocaine dependence yielded good results in a phase-2 clinical trial and will be tested next year in a larger study.’

According to Kosten, “The antibodies slow cocaine’s entry into the brain. And because it is slowed down so much, the drug isn’t reinforcing any more. The most promising thing we found is that once we got those cocaine antibody levels up, they were more effective than we thought they were going to be. The part that we did expect, but that was still disappointing, is about 20% of people don’t make much of an antibody response.”

A caveat from the vaccine developers: ‘The cocaine vaccine is not intended to prevent addiction but instead is designed for use with other treatments, such as behavioral therapy, to assist people in recovery. The vaccine is among a number of research projects relying on similar technology to treat nicotine, heroin and methamphetamine addiction.’

Image

Via Los Angeles Times