New Vaccine likely to Fight Nicotine Addiction

The researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction. The scientists describe how a single dose of their novel vaccine protects mice, over their lifetime, against nicotine addiction. This study was published in the Journal Science Translational Medicine. 

Nearly 70 to 85 percent of the people keep smoking even though they are aware of the fact that their addiction is going to kill them. It's tough for people who have been smoking addicts for more than 2 years.  But the smokers can now quit smoking and end all nicotine use with just one shot.

The researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction. The scientists describe how a single dose of their novel vaccine protects mice, over their lifetime, against nicotine addiction. This study was published in the Journal Science Translational Medicine.

A senior author of the study, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman and professor of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College was quoted as saying, "As far as we can see, the best way to treat chronic nicotine addiction from smoking is to have these Pac man-like antibodies on patrol, clearing the blood as needed before nicotine can have any biological effect. Our vaccine allows the body to make its own monoclonal antibodies against nicotine, and in that way, develop a workable immunity."

Anti-Bodies in Liver

The researches created the vaccine by taking the genetically engineered nicotine antibody. This was then inserted in to the harmless virus inserted into the harmless virus and this virus was directed to infect the liver cells of laboratory mice. With the virus in their nuclei, the liver cells started producing nicotine antibodies, essentially bypassing the immune system and creating a new army of proteins to seek out and destroy any nicotine they might encounter.

Crystal quoted saying, "Once we genetically modify their livers to make an antibody against nicotine - so now the antibodies against nicotine are floating around in the blood - and we administer nicotine to the mouse, nothing happens. It's like they are getting water."

With the help of infrared beams the researchers measured the activity level of the experimental mice. They noticed the mice that nicotine-addicted mice that received the vaccine were just as alert as normal mice. The rodents were also more active than mice that received nicotine but not the vaccine. A single dose of the vaccine was effective for the life of the mice.

Crystal concludes saying, "This is a new strategy that may work. We won't know until we do the human studies, but it is a very difficult problem and we need new strategies."