“The toll of addiction is staggering. Approximately one in seven people who try addictive substances will get hooked, and the abuse of illicit drugs costs the economy $193 billion each year in healthcare, crime prevention, and loss of productivity, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Researchers are working on vaccines that block drugs from reaching the brain, preventing addicts from getting high. These vaccines could help people in recovery stay clean, but they’re not likely to become part of the standard childhood immunizations lineup.
Among the anti-heroin vaccines being tested, one coaxes the immune system to attack heroin and helps eliminate it from the body so effectively that it can neutralize lethal levels of the drug in animals.
A second anti-heroin vaccine, developed at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Springs, Maryland, goes after two closely linked problems: It keeps heroin from reaching the brain while also preventing HIV infection.”
Read more at: http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/35229494/anti-drug-vaccines-could-be-a-game-changer-for-people-battling-addiction
Source: WRCBRV.com – April 24, 2017
