Anti-amphetamine vaccine tested on mice
A vaccine against amphetamine has been created
The idea is quite simple: as in the case of a conventional, anti-infective vaccine, the immune system must learn the enemy molecule, only here it will not be a bacterial protein or polysaccharide, but a neutralized drug. Yes, the idea is obvious, but technically it is not easy to implement it: in order for the immune system to react to a molecule, it must have its own personality, be quite large and memorable, so that specific antibodies can be synthesized to it.
Clinical trials of vaccines against nicotine and cocaine have recently begun. But some narcotic molecules turned out to be a tough nut to crack. One of them is methamphetamine, which, according to American statistics, comes out almost in the first place among narcotic substances that cause addiction.
In the collection The Many Faces of Meth there are many similar pictures "before and after" – VM.The problem is that the molecules of methamphetamine and its metabolite amphetamine are too simple for the immune system to recognize and remember them.
In addition, both substances stay in the body for a long time, which is why the smallest amount may be enough for a narcotic effect. All this hindered the creation of an amphetamine vaccine.
And so luck smiled on scientists: an article by researchers from the Scripps Institute (USA) appeared in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Miller et al., A Methamphetamine Vaccine Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced Disorders in Thermoregulation and Activity in Rats.
They managed to create a methamphetamine double molecule, which, for greater efficiency, was attached to a larger carrier molecule so that the immune system could "see" it (a common trick in such cases). Eventually, three vaccines were developed, after which the animals showed a sharp increase in the concentration of specific antibodies in response to methamphetamine.
Further experiments allowed us to find the most effective composition, which was called MH6. According to scientists, MH6 suppresses two main manifestations of methamphetamine – hyperactivity and failures in the body's thermoregulation system. Vaccinated mice did not rush after taking the drug to run obsessively in the "squirrel wheel", and their body temperature remained normal. That is, the synthesized antibodies effectively snatched out methamphetamine molecules in the blood and nervous system, preventing them from having their effect.
So far, the main problem of the vaccine is that it does not work for too long and it must be repeated periodically. The researchers, however, are full of optimism, believing that they will deal with this in the very near future.
Prepared based on the materials of the Scripps Institute: Meth Vaccine Shows Promising Results in Early Tests.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru02.11.2012