Peptides against alcohol addiction
Scientists have developed a vaccine against alcoholism
Oksana Klitschnikova
Alcoholism is not a bad habit, but a disease (according to the wording adopted by the World Health Organization – "alcohol dependence syndrome"). Is there a chance to cure her with medications? And is there a humane way to facilitate the treatment process?
To date, alcoholism has become one of the most urgent diseases, both in itself and as a cause of increased injuries, the development of somatic diseases and a decrease in life expectancy, not only in Russia, but also around the world. Despite the abundance of existing treatments, most of them are not effective enough. Many patients find themselves in the clinic again six months after the end of the course of therapy. The main cause of alcoholic relapses is a pathological attraction to alcohol, which persists for many years.
At first, alcohol attracts people (and many other mammals) by stimulating the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which serves as an important part of the brain's "reward system" because it causes a feeling of pleasure. But with an increased concentration of ethanol in the blood, the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase increases – an enzyme that not only oxidizes ethanol, but also participates in the exchange processes of a number of neurotransmitters belonging to the bioamine group and, among other things, reduces the production of dopamine to a level below the baseline. As a result, a person develops depression ... and often a desire to get rid of it in the simplest way: to drink more.
A new approach to the treatment of alcohol addiction was proposed by several researchers, graduates of the MSU biofactory, who joined together in ADG-Pharm LLC. They have developed a vaccine that reduces the craving for ethanol. The peptide synthesized by scientists (a short chain of amino acids) is part of the alcohol dehydrogenase molecule, and it is precisely its modification that is characteristic of brain cells. Antibodies produced by the immune system in response to contact with the peptide bind to alcohol dehydrogenase and inactivate it, breaking the vicious circle described above.
Vsevolod Pavshintsev, Executive Director of ADG-Pharm LLC: "The main advantages of our method in comparison with competitors presented on the market include the duration of the effect (about 2 years), low cost of vaccine components, ease of use and low traumatism of the procedure (three times subcutaneous injection within a month), as well as minimal side effects effects".
The vaccine against alcoholism, unlike common remedies, does not cause disgust or severe physiological reactions of the body, but forms a stable unwillingness to drink, while increasing the general emotional background of patients and reducing depression during alcohol withdrawal.
This has not yet been tested in humans, but in animal experiments and at the molecular level, this effect of the vaccine on dopamine metabolism has been confirmed, and standard behavioral methods for assessing preferences have given encouraging results.
While the vaccine is in development, and its authors are looking for investors to complete preclinical trials. If the drug can pass all the necessary stages of research, its approximate cost will be about 2000 rubles.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.11.2014