Community | January 07, 2011 | 14 comments

Cocaine vaccine could make drug addiction a distant memory

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The first ever vaccine for drug addiction has just been created. By combining a cocaine-like molecule with part of the common cold virus, you get a vaccine that turns the immune system against cocaine, keeping it away from the brain.

So far, the vaccine has only been tested on mice, but the results are extraordinary. Mice given the vaccine no longer exhibited any of the hyperactive signs of a cocaine high when they were next given the drug. The vaccine was created by taking just the part of the cold virus that alerts the body's immune system to its presence, and then researchers connected the signalling mechanism to a more stable version of the cocaine molecule.

Once the mice received an injection of the vaccine, they started producing anti-cocaine antibodies which targeted and destroyed any cocaine that then entered their system. Normally, cocaine does not produce an immune response, leaving it free to wreak havoc on the brain and body of whoever takes it. But the cold virus segments taught the immune system to treat cocaine like a hostile invader, offering a nearly impregnable wall of protection from the cocaine's effects.

Researcher Ronald Crystal explains what this means:

"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. 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. There is currently no FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved vaccine for any drug addiction.The vaccine may help [drug addicts] kick the habit, because if they use cocaine, an immune response will destroy the drug before it reaches the brain's pleasure center.

http://io9.com/5725864/cocaine-vaccine-could-make-drug-addiction-a-distant-memor...
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Science,   Technology,   3 more
  2. tags:
    Drugs,  Cocaine,  Addiction,  Vaccines,  2 more
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14 comments // Cocaine vaccine could make drug addiction a distant memory

  • sffsmessiah
    • 0
      sffsmessiah  

    • maybe just like the poor were sterilized, the "addicted" will be vaccinated. wouldn't be surprised if this made it to the prison system, along the lines of chemical castration for pedophiles.

    • 1 year ago
  • missmissea
  • echelgreen
  • EdJoyProductions
  • EdJoyProductions
  • simplecj
    • 0
      simplecj  

    • They need to do this for nicotine... seriously! It will be interesting to see how it effects humans, but I'm sure that's quite a ways off. Five, maybe ten years or more?

    • 1 year ago
  • s_peak
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • +1
      Jeremy_Benson  

    • This is fascinating. I wonder if the cocaine still effects the brain and causes the high without causing increased dopamine levels or if the cocaine is prevented from crossing the blood/brain barrier all together. Knowing what I know I'd assume the second, but it would be awesome to have all the high with none of the addiction. This also seems like a simple process that could be repeated with meth and heroin, assuming it works in humans. And it reminds me of Fallout 3.

    • 1 year ago
  • ImConcerned
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • 0
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • ImConcerned:

      That's a good question. Withdrawal from a substance comes when your body craves a certain substance because it feels that it needs it. But what happens when your body begins to view that substance as a threat? Does one override the other or do they coexist?

    • 1 year ago
  • ezrierin
    • 0
      ezrierin  

    • This is not going to get much traction. The United Corporation State of America is run by moneyed interests. People with stock in medical, alcohol, or tobacco for instance will be horrified by this. I am sure lobbyist have already called their hired employees in Congress and ordered them to stop this research, or ban the vaccine. This is like the cure for cancer. 40% of medical costs go to cancer treatments. There will never be a cure, just an expensive treatment. The same with HIV and now cocaine. If you are wealthy you will be able to take yourself or your child overseas and get such vaccines. Money buys all freedom in the US of Corporate America. If you are not wealthy you have no purchased freedoms. Consequently your addiction will serve the corporations as a good lower class citizen, through treatments, substance abuse, and as a convict in their private prisons capitalist legal system. Welcome to THX 1138 America where they won‘t leave us alone until we cannot be human grist for the corporate mill. Then they will sell our loved ones a coffin.

    • 1 year ago
  • NiceN
  • oppressed1
  • Incredulous
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