Tomorrow's the day where we should get a better concept of how this play works out...... thus far, it's gone as planned. Thanks, Silverman/Suzman.
Here's something well-timed.......
01:28 PM ET 08/23/99
PCP, Cocaine Vaccination Eyed
PCP, Cocaine Vaccination Eyed
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY=
Associated Press Writer=
NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ Designer antibodies may someday be used to
immunize people against cocaine and other drugs to block the rush
that users crave.
If these vaccines fulfill their promise, they could
revolutionize emergency treatment for PCP and amphetamines. And
though they won't cure addiction, they could also help people who
want to kick the habit, researchers say.
''Our goal would be to protect against the sudden unexpected
urge to use, so that if the patient used it, he wouldn't get the
effects,'' said Dr. Michael Owen, a pharmacologist at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who hopes to begin
tests this year on a PCP overdose treatment.
The illegal drugs all have molecules so tiny they sneak
unnoticed through the body's immune system. To create antibodies,
researchers must hook the molecule to a protein big enough to set
off the immune system's alarms.
The drug-plus-protein can be injected directly, to prompt the
body to make its own antibodies. Or scientists can create the
antibodies by working with laboratory animals and inject them into
patients.
Either way, the antibody grabs the drug in the bloodstream,
before it gets to the brain.
At least, that's how it works in animals so far.
Antibodies could be used to treat an overdose or block a drug's
effects for a longer period, perhaps a month or more.
Both PCP and methamphetamine last for days in the body, unlike
cocaine, which is metabolized in 20 minutes or so.
PCP intoxication can be fatal, and both it and amphetamine
psychosis can leave permanent mental scars, said Frank Vocci, head
of medications development for the National Institute on Drug Abuse
and Alcoholism.
The ability to bind the drugs to antibodies could be a major
leap forward in treating them, he said.
Cocaine addiction is a much bigger and trickier problem. More
than 2 million people need treatment. About 900,000 a year start
treatment, but at least three-quarters go back to the drug, Vocci
said.
''Maybe if we had something to help them out for the initial
period, it might boost the efficacy keep them in longer,'' he said.
Scientists involved in the research discussed their work Monday
at a meeting of American Chemical Association in New Orleans.
Already, one cocaine vaccine, developed by a biomedical company
in Massachusetts, is being tried on people at a Connecticut clinic.
So far, only the safety has been tested, and it had virtually no
side effects, said Dr. Thomas Kosten, a psychiatry professor at
Yale University and chief of psychiatry for the Veterans
Administration in Connecticut.
The study was not designed to look at the effectiveness of the
vaccine, but a few of the participants reported that cocaine
''doesn't seem to have the bang that it used to have,'' Kosten
said. |
