Study: An anti-smoking vaccine, delivered by a shot in the arm, keeps nicotine from reaching the brain.
Imagine smokers being able to take a simple shot in the arm to break their nicotine addiction.
In a study released at the 80th American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, in November 2007, U.S. researchers said the new vaccine called NicVAX showed promise -- but the results do not prove the vaccine will work.
“There’s merit in it,” said Dr. Stephen Rennard, Professor of Medicine in the University of Nebraska’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Section, who presented the findings at the conference. (Source: Associated Press, November 7, 2007)
The Anti-Smoking Vaccine Results
One year into the trial of several hundred participants across the U.S., more than twice as many smokers given the vaccine have stopped smoking (15 percent) compared to those in the placebo group (6 percent) after one year, reports AP.
The NicVAX vaccine, made by Nabi Biopharmaceuticals in Boca Raton, Florida, works by reducing the pleasurable effects of smoking. Unlike conventional approaches to kicking the habit like lozenges, patches and nasal sprays, the vaccine actually “immunizes” the body from the nicotine craving.
In the trial, each participant received four or five shots within six months. The first shot prepared the immune system for later shots which actually create antibodies that attach to nicotine in the bloodstream. This creates a brain-barrier, which prevents the nicotine from entering the brain, thus reducing the pleasurable effects of smoking and making it easier to quit.
Some nicotine still gets into the body to reduce the effects of withdrawal.
Mixed Reviews
For the more than 18 million smokers in the U.S. who make serious attempts to quit each year, the vaccine is encouraging news – although the results of the study drew mixed reviews among attending physicians at the conference, as reported by AP.
“Impressive preliminary data,” said Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr., a cardiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“It clearly shows promise,” said Dr. Frank Vocci, director of medications development at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Others were clearly less impressed with the findings.
“I’m pretty underwhelmed,” said another physician, Dr. Timothy Gardner, a heart association spokesperson and cardiologist for Christina Care Health System in Newark, Delaware.
Smoking: #1 Health Hazard
Figuring out how to help smokers quit is important research in the United States, where smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death.
More than 400,000 Americans die each year and billions are spent annually on smoking-related health care costs.
While more than 70 percent of current adult smokers have said they want to quit smoking, fewer than 5 percent succeed long-term.
(Sources: Science Daily, June 21, 2006, and Associated Press, November 7, 2007)
