Cocaine vaccine shows moderate efficacy

Wednesday Oct 17, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- Cocaine dependence can be reduced by treating the cocaine users with a so called cocaine vaccine, according to a new trial.

Five injections of the cocaine vaccine resulted in serum IgG anticocaine antibody levels of 43 microg per mL or higher and reduced cocaine use by 50 percent in 38 percent of the vaccinated subjects.

For the strial, E. Rossen RD and colleagues from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT  randomized 150 methadone-maintained men and women aged 18 to 46 years to receive either cocaine vaccine or placebo.  Most subjects smoked crack cocaine along with using marijuana, alcohol, and nonprescription opioids.

Over a period of 12 weeks, 109 of 115 participants were either gaven 5 vaccinations of placebo or succinylnorcocaine associated with recombinant cholera toxin B-subunit protein.
 
The researchers found 21 vaccinated participants had acquired 43 microg per mL of antibody and had significantly more cocaine free urine samples than those with lower than 43 microg per mL. 

And more of the former group of subjects than those with low levels of IgG achieved a 50 percent reduction in cocaine use.

The side effects include injection site induration and tenderness and no treatment-related serious adverse effects, withdrawal or deaths were observed.

The downside of the cocaine vaccine is that it generated sufficient antibody only in 38 percent subjects and the efficacy only lasted for two months.

The trial results were reported in the Oct 2009 issue of Archives of general psychiatry.

Source:

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Oct;66(10):1116-23.
Cocaine vaccine for the treatment of cocaine dependence in methadone-maintained patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trial.Martell BA, Orson FM, Poling J, Mitchell E, Rossen RD, Gardner T, Kosten TR.
Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org