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Treatment for addiction takes many forms and depends on the needs of the
individual. In accordance with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, we offer
information on outcome-oriented treatment that adheres to an established continuum of
care. In this section, you will find information and resources related to evidence-based
treatment models, counseling and therapy and payment and insurance options.
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After more than 25 years of research, vaccinations for drug addiction are getting closer to becoming a realistic treatment option. They might also be the best solution for the growing heroin and opioid problem in the U.S., according to Dr. William Compton.
Compton is the deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He spoke about the prospect of treating addiction through immunization at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in early February, according to Medill News Service.
Vaccines would be just one part of the strategy to fight drug addiction. Preventing addiction and negating the effects of drug overdose are also part of the strategy, Compton said.
Other revolutionary treatment options include a buprenorphine implant that treats people suffering from opioid addiction. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed to review the safety and efficacy of the implant after initially denying it.
Studies involving vaccines to treat addiction have had success in recent years. In 2008, NIDA director Dr. Nora Volkow wrote that NIDA was supporting researchers searching for a vaccine for drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, PCP and methamphetamine.
Vaccines aren’t without controversy, however. Experts fear funding will be nearly impossible to obtain or patients in relapse will hurt themselves trying to overcome the vaccination.
How an Addiction Vaccine Works
Common vaccines, such as those given for the measles or the flu, work by provoking the immune system to produce antibodies that attack viruses or bacteria.
The antibodies of a drug addiction vaccine would not destroy drug molecules. Rather, they would block them from entering the brain. Vaccine molecules would attach themselves to drug molecules, making them too big to enter the brain. The result is a decreased ability to experience euphoria or relief when using drugs.
The body eventually gets rid of the drug molecules in a variety of ways. A naturally occurring enzyme in the body breaks down cocaine, and the liver metabolizes drugs such as methamphetamine and nicotine.
Vaccinated patients would not feel a relief from cravings for the drug either. The idea is patients will stop using the drugs because they know they won’t receive any reward for using them. However, experts fear people may attempt to take incredibly high doses of the drug to overcome the immunization, which could lead to overdose.
Preliminary research has been conducted on a several possible vaccines:
NicVAX
a nicotine vaccine, helped 16 percent of clinical trial participants quit smoking.
TA-CD
a cocaine vaccine, helped clinical trial participants abstain from cocaine during a 12-week study.
PCP and methamphetamine vaccines
reduced the levels of drugs in the brains of laboratory animals.
Vaccines for drugs, like many other vaccinations, would require booster shots. Theoretically, if a person recovering from addiction went too long without a booster, they could lose their immunization to the drug.
Laboratory Experiments
Several studies have used laboratory rats for experiments to test vaccines for drug addiction because the brains of rats are somewhat similar to those of humans.
In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, vaccinated rats had weaker responses to cocaine than non-vaccinated rats did.
When injected with cocaine, vaccinated rats displayed less intense side effects from the drug. The rats could also access cocaine by pressing a lever, but vaccinated rats didn’t work as hard to access the cocaine compared to non-vaccinated rats.
In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, rats vaccinated for heroin displayed decreased pain-relief side effects of the drug. When placed on a hot plate, non-vaccinated rats injected with heroin took 30 seconds to adjust their feet. Vaccinated rats moved their feet after 10 seconds, about the time it would take a sober rat to feel discomfort and move its feet.
When given access to it, vaccinated rats also sought heroin less frequently than did non-vaccinated rats.
Funding Research for Vaccine Addiction
The vast majority of studies on drug addiction are funded by NIDA, which usually receives about $1 billion every year from the federal government. NIDA invested $27.1 million in addiction-vaccine research in 2014, according to Time.
However, many pharmaceutical companies estimate that it costs more than $1 billion to bring a single drug to market. That means researchers hoping to prove a vaccine is safe and effective must secure funding from a resource other than the federal government.
“No pharmaceutical company is going to fund trials for heroin, no way,” Dr. Kim Janda, the lead author of the 2012 heroin study, told Time. “For meth? No way. Forget about it.”
Many experts believe vaccinations for drug addiction would decrease overall health care costs enough to warrant the high investment, though.
“I am not sure Americans realize that if they treated alcoholism and drug addiction they would save quadrillions of dollars in health care costs,” Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told Time.
“Go into any emergency room on the weekend and you will see half are there for alcohol and drugs,” he said. “If for no other reason, investing in research on addiction will reduce health care costs in the future. That’s something I believe in.”
Medical Disclaimer: DrugRehab.com aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.
Koob, G. F. et al. (2012, April). Novel cocaine vaccine linked to a disrupted adenovirus gene transfer vector blocks cocaine psychostimulant and reinforcing effects. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21918504
Sifferlin, A. (2015, January 9). Why You’ve Never Heard of the Vaccine for Heroin Addiction. Retrieved from http://time.com/3654784/why-youve-never-heard-of-the-vaccine-for-heroin-addiction/
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