Vaccine - Promising Treatment for Nicotine Addiction

Each year nearly half of all smokers attempt to quit smoking, but less than 5 percent are successful beyond 3 months to a year. Results from a new study by Dr. Dorothy Hatsukami and colleagues from the University of Minnesota Medical School suggest a new nicotine vaccine may be safe and effective in helping smokers who want to quit.

A total of 68 smokers randomly received a placebo or one of three doses of nicotine vaccine four times over 26 weeks. The researchers then observed the patients for an additional 38 weeks to monitor nicotine antibody levels, smoking behavior, and/or adverse side effects such as nausea, fatigue, or pain.

The scientists observed that nicotine antibodies (molecules that bind to nicotine, reducing its distribution to and its effects in the brain) increased in all nicotine vaccine groups. More patients who received the highest dose of vaccine achieved 30-day abstinence, and in a shorter amount of time, than those who received the other doses or placebo. Moreover, scientists found no evidence of withdrawal symptoms such as craving, irritability, or compensatory smoking (smoking more of a cigarette or puffing more often to increase nicotine intake). More than 90 percent of reported side effects were of mild or moderate severity. The most frequently reported events were upper respiratory tract infection, headache, cough, and inflammation of the nasal passages and throat. There were no observed differences in the frequency of these events among the four treatment groups.

* WHAT IT MEANS: Study participants who received the vaccine experienced none of the typical withdrawal symptoms commonly experienced by smokers. The nicotine vaccine may offer a promising new treatment alternative for smokers seeking to quit. Further research is needed to maximize the vaccines ability to diminish nicotines effects in humans.

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