Scientists in Mexico test vaccine to resist heroine
Source: Agencies |
February 25, 2012, Saturday
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WHILE Mexico grapples with relentless drug-related violence, a group of Mexican scientists is working on a vaccine that could reduce addiction to one of the world's most notorious narcotics: heroin.
Researchers at the country's National Institute of Psychiatry say they have successfully tested the vaccine on mice and are preparing to test it on humans.
The vaccine, which has been patented in the United States, works by making the body resistant to the effects of heroin, so users would no longer get a rush of pleasure when they smoke or inject it.
"It would be a vaccine for people who are serious addicts, who have not had success with other treatments and decide to use this application to get away from drugs," the institute's director Maria Elena Medina said in Mexico City on Thursday.
Scientists worldwide have been searching for drug addiction vaccines for several years, but none have yet been fully developed and released on the market. One group at the US National Institute on Drug Abuse has reported significant progress in a vaccine for cocaine.
However, the Mexican scientists appear to be close to making a breakthrough on a heroin vaccine.
During the tests, mice were given access to deposits of heroin over an extended period of time. Those given the vaccine showed a huge drop in heroin consumption, giving the institute hope that it could also work on people, Medina said.
Mexico, a major producer and transit country for drugs smuggled into the US, has a growing drug addiction problem. Health Secretary Jose Cordoba recently said the country has some 450,000 hard drug addicts.
Researchers at the country's National Institute of Psychiatry say they have successfully tested the vaccine on mice and are preparing to test it on humans.
The vaccine, which has been patented in the United States, works by making the body resistant to the effects of heroin, so users would no longer get a rush of pleasure when they smoke or inject it.
"It would be a vaccine for people who are serious addicts, who have not had success with other treatments and decide to use this application to get away from drugs," the institute's director Maria Elena Medina said in Mexico City on Thursday.
Scientists worldwide have been searching for drug addiction vaccines for several years, but none have yet been fully developed and released on the market. One group at the US National Institute on Drug Abuse has reported significant progress in a vaccine for cocaine.
However, the Mexican scientists appear to be close to making a breakthrough on a heroin vaccine.
During the tests, mice were given access to deposits of heroin over an extended period of time. Those given the vaccine showed a huge drop in heroin consumption, giving the institute hope that it could also work on people, Medina said.
Mexico, a major producer and transit country for drugs smuggled into the US, has a growing drug addiction problem. Health Secretary Jose Cordoba recently said the country has some 450,000 hard drug addicts.
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