Despite its strong presence in popular culture and the widespread effects of its abuse, cocaine has yet to have a long-term chemical treatment option for its addiction - until now. Scientists from the University of Kentucky have created a compound that prevents cocaine users from experiencing the high that typically comes with its use while at the same time lasting long enough to be useful as a long-term treatment option, according to a news release.
Cocaine is the only drug in the U.S. that lacks a long-term preventative treatment option approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), despite the efforts of scientists over the years. In the current study, the scientists took advantage of cocaine hydrolase enzymes due to prior studies showing their effectiveness in preventing the high that is tied with cocaine use. However, these previous studies could not get it to remain in the body long enough to be effective in treatment plans. The current study attached human immunoglobulin G antibodies to the cocaine hydrolase enzyme due to their ability to remain in the body for long periods of time.
The study showed that the new compound made up of cocaine hydrolase and human immunoglobulin G antibodies remained in the bodies of rats for up to 107 hours, compared to cocaine hydrolase alone, which remained for just eight hours. Furthermore, in addition to blocking the cocaine "high," a single dose of the compound also prevented rats from suffering lethal overdoses.
The new compound works by breaking down cocaine metabolites, thus preventing rats from feeling the effects of cocaine, for up to 20 days. However, the treatment would have to be administered to humans every two to four weeks to be effective and will need to go through further research before being brought before the FDA.
The findings were published in the Nov. 30 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
