Editor's Choice Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines Article Date: 02 Jul 2012 - 11:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Vaccine For Blocking Nicotine Chemicals Before They Reach The Brain Shows Promise

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine describes that a single dose of the novel vaccine protects mice against a life-long addiction against nicotine.

The vaccine uses the animal's liver as a production site to continuously produce antibodies that instantly gobble up nicotine the moment it enters the bloodstream, and therefore prevents the chemical from reaching the brain and heart.

Leading researcher, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman and professor of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College explains:

He continues saying: "Our vaccine allows the body to make its own monoclonal antibodies against nicotine, and in that way, develop a workable immunity."

Dr. Crystal stated that the reason why earlier nicotine vaccines failed in clinical trials was because they all directly deliver nicotine antibodies. Their effect only lasted a few weeks and therefore required repeated, costly injections. He adds that this impractical, passive vaccine also delivered inconsistent results, which could potentially be because each person may require a different dose, particularly if the person starts to smoke again.

Crystal says:

He adds that evidence has shown that 70 to 80% of smokers who try to quit pick up the habit again within six months.

Around 20% of American adults smoke, and what keeps smokers addicted is the nicotine in the tobacco, and not the 4,000 chemicals in the burning cigarette that cause smoking-related health problems and which lead to one in every five deaths in the U.S.

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Vaccine For Blocking Nicotine Chemicals Before They Reach The Brain Shows Promise