Scientists Create New Vaccine for Cocaine Addiction
- nypost.com
Brazil – Scientists in Brazil, the world's second-biggest consumer of cocaine have announced the development of an innovative new treatment for addiction to cocaine and its powerful deriactive crack, a vaccine.Â
Named "Calixcoca," the test vaccine, which has shown promising results in trials on animals, triggers an immune response that blocks cocaine and crack from reaching the brain, which researchers hope will help users break the cycle of addiction.
The experimental shot has shown promising results in animal trials and will soon enter the final stage of trials - testing on humans.
Ilustrasi vaksin.
- Freepik/jcomp
Earlier this year, vaccines for fentanyl and heroin overdoses, which would be given to high-risk drug users, were also shown to be successful in animal studies and are due to enter human trials next year, suggesting vaccines could be a novel way of getting a grip on America's overdose problem.
When someone snorts cocaine, the powder is absorbed into the blood through the nasal tissues.
People may also rub the drug onto their gums or dissolve it in water and inject it, where it reaches the bloodstream quickly and makes the drug's effects more intense.Â
Brazil's vaccine works by prompting the immune system to release antibodies that attach to cocaine molecules in the blood.
This makes the molecules too large to enter the brain's mesolimbic pathway or the 'reward center' of the brain. Here, the drug would stimulate high levels of the pleasure-inducing hormone dopamine.
By blocking the molecules, the vaccine would prevent a person from feeling the high they usually experience after taking the drug.
The shot is not intended to reverse cocaine overdoses but is hoping to prevent an addict from taking the drug in the first place because of the lack of a high.
It is not clear if the vaccine is administered as a single shot or over a number of injections.
