Guest guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Damn Lenny, you beat me by 10 minutes! > > Is this the definition of irony or what?? A drug to prevent drug > use???? What the H#*$^ $??? > > > > Texas Researchers Working On Cocaine Vaccine > HOUSTON (AP) ― Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston > are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever > medication to treat people hooked on the drug. > > " For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be > very useful, " said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who is being > assisted in the research by his wife, Therese, a psychologist and > neuroscientist. " At some point, most users will give in to temptation > and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won't get > high and will lose interest. " > > The vaccine, currently in clinical trials, stimulates the immune > system to attack the real thing when it's taken. > > The immune system -- unable to recognize cocaine and other drug > molecules because they are so small -- can't make antibodies to attack > them. > > To help the immune system distinguish the drug, Kosten attached > inactivated cocaine to the outside of inactivated cholera proteins. > > In response, the immune system not only makes antibodies to the > combination, which is harmless, but also recognizes the potent naked > drug when it's ingested. The antibodies bind to the cocaine and > prevent it from reaching the brain, where it normally would generate > the highs that are so addictive. > > " It's a very clever idea, " says Eagleman, a Baylor > neuroscientist. " Scientists have spent the last few decades figuring > out reward pathways in the brain and how drugs like cocaine hijack the > system. It turns out those pathways are difficult to rewire once > they've seen the drug. But the vaccine just circumvents all that. " > > Kosten asked the Food and Drug Administration in December to > green-light a multi-institutional trial to begin in the spring and is > awaiting a response. > > Approval would mark a breakthrough in the treatment of cocaine > addiction, which now mostly involves psychiatric counseling and > 12-step programs. It presumably would be the final clinical hurdle > before the vaccine -- more than a decade in the making -- might be > approved for treatment. But one expert warns against expecting too much. > > " Addiction vaccines are a promising advance, but it's unlikely any > treatment in this field will work for everyone, " said Dr. > Gorelick, a senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug > Abuse. " Still, if they prove successful, they will give those working > in drug addiction an important option. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 , you mean he beat you by a nose? > > Damn Lenny, you beat me by 10 minutes! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Depends on whose nose we're talking about. My husband's nose is at least 1/2 hour. -- In EOHarm , " krstagliano " <KRStagliano@...> wrote: > > , you mean he beat you by a nose? > > > > > > Damn Lenny, you beat me by 10 minutes! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.