Carding 4 Carders
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A scientific breakthrough in the treatment of addiction.
Scientists in Brazil, the world's second - largest cocaine user, have announced the development of a groundbreaking treatment for addiction to the drug and its powerful crack derivative: a vaccine. The experimental vaccine, dubbed "Calixcoca," has shown encouraging results in animal trials. It triggers an immune response that blocks cocaine and crack from reaching the brain, which researchers believe will help users break the cycle of addiction. In simple terms, addicts will no longer experience euphoria from the drug.
If the treatment gets regulatory approval, it will be the first case of treating cocaine addiction using a vaccine, said psychiatrist Frederico Garcia, coordinator of the team that developed the treatment at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The project was awarded the grand prize at the Euro Health Innovation Awards for Latin American Medicine, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Eurofarma.
The vaccine works by stimulating patients immune systems to produce antibodies that bind to cocaine molecules in the blood, making them too large to pass into the brain's mesolimbic system, where the drug normally stimulates high levels of pleasure.
Garcia claims that Calixcoca can change the approach to addiction treatment. "There is currently no specific registered treatment for cocaine and crack addiction. We use a combination of psychological counseling, social assistance and rehabilitation," he says. Calixcoca can add an important tool to this regimen, helping patients through critical stages of recovery.
However, the vaccine won't be a "panacea" that can be administered to anyone, Garcia says. The exact target group will depend on the results of clinical trials, but is theoretically intended for recovering addicts "who have given up (cocaine) and want to stay that way."
Scientists in Brazil, the world's second - largest cocaine user, have announced the development of a groundbreaking treatment for addiction to the drug and its powerful crack derivative: a vaccine. The experimental vaccine, dubbed "Calixcoca," has shown encouraging results in animal trials. It triggers an immune response that blocks cocaine and crack from reaching the brain, which researchers believe will help users break the cycle of addiction. In simple terms, addicts will no longer experience euphoria from the drug.
If the treatment gets regulatory approval, it will be the first case of treating cocaine addiction using a vaccine, said psychiatrist Frederico Garcia, coordinator of the team that developed the treatment at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The project was awarded the grand prize at the Euro Health Innovation Awards for Latin American Medicine, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Eurofarma.
The vaccine works by stimulating patients immune systems to produce antibodies that bind to cocaine molecules in the blood, making them too large to pass into the brain's mesolimbic system, where the drug normally stimulates high levels of pleasure.
Garcia claims that Calixcoca can change the approach to addiction treatment. "There is currently no specific registered treatment for cocaine and crack addiction. We use a combination of psychological counseling, social assistance and rehabilitation," he says. Calixcoca can add an important tool to this regimen, helping patients through critical stages of recovery.
However, the vaccine won't be a "panacea" that can be administered to anyone, Garcia says. The exact target group will depend on the results of clinical trials, but is theoretically intended for recovering addicts "who have given up (cocaine) and want to stay that way."
