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Vaccine for cocaine found

Posted Jan 04, 2008 at 01:21PM by Isaac C. Listed in: Self Well-being Tags: Columbia, Baylor College of Medicine
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Scientists develop cocaine vaccine - Image 1


Scientists in Houston have developed a vaccine that counteracts the mind-altering effects of cocaine. Ironically, the vaccine for one of the most infamous drugs out there will be administered using a needle.

The vaccine was developed in the Baylor College of Medicine and is now awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration to be used in treating cocaine addiction. The decision isn't expected to come for a few years yet, though.

The vaccine is still a work in progress. It works by making antibodies in the system that bind to the drug before it reaches the brain. Work is now in progress to find similar vaccines for drugs like heroin and nicotine.

For now, ethical issues have been raised with the arrival of the drug. For one thing, would the drug be effective in treating addicts? Even if it does counteract the drug, that doesn't mean drug addicts won't just switch drugs, or just take more cocaine to beat the vaccine.

According to Tom Kosten, one of the researchers of the study, addicts would have a hard time getting enough cocaine to counteract the vaccine, and participants who took the vaccine didn't switch to other drugs.

Other concerns were raised of course, like whether it was ethical to administer the drug to unwilling participants. Peter Cohen, chairman of the District of Columbia Medical Society's physician health committee summed up the points of concern by saying:

There are certainly important issues there, but I don't think any are insurmountable. Overall, the benefits to society of such vaccines would outweigh the risks.

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   by Aces In The Palm - 2008-01-05
 » Ironically, the vaccine for one of the most infamous drugs out there will be administered using a needle.
Whats so ironic about that?
if you had to smoke or snort it, now theres irony



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