Scientists invented the methamphetamine vaccine
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists from Scripps Research Institute have synthesized a new vaccine, which is aimed at treating addicted people from methamphetamine. According to the developers, it helps to overcome dependence with minimal manifestations of the withdrawal syndrome that occurs during treatment.
Experts have successfully tested experimental methamphetamine vaccine in rats. Animals that received the drug were not exposed to the drug and did not show typical signs of intoxication. If the vaccine is tested and effective against people too, this may be the first specific treatment of drug dependence, which, according to experts, affects 25 million people around the world.
Over the past two decades, methamphetamine has become one of the most common drugs around the world. In the United States alone, there are more than 400,000 active drug addicts, and in some states, including California, methamphetamine is the drug from which most addicts began their journey.
Methamphetamines have the property of causing strong dependence and is part of the transition to heroin addiction.
The new vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies in the addict's body that bind the drug in the bloodstream, preventing it from entering the brain and developing associated reactions.
The authors of the study emphasize that the vaccine is not a means for prevention, but is aimed at treating people who are already addicted to drug dependence. They also say that there is no guarantee that there will not be a relapse. In addition, the drug should be used in conjunction with other methods of exposure - a psychologist's consultation and hospitalization.
"We think that this vaccine has all the necessary properties and functions to allow us to move forward in the fight against drug addiction," the authors of the study say.
The developers of the drug plan to conduct another large-scale study, and then seek formal approval for the use of the drug in the clinical practice of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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