Biotechnology and the Treatment of Addictive Disorders: New Opportunities

Authors: Elkashef, Ahmed; Biswas, Jamie; Acri, Jane B.; Vocci, Frank

Source: BioDrugs, Volume 21, Number 4, 2007 , pp. 259-267(9)

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Abstract:

Addiction is a chronic relapsing illness with onset typically occurring in the early teenage years, followed by cycles of drug use and abstinence. The disease is mitigated by complex interactions between genes and environment. Viewed as such, the treatment of addiction could span the whole lifetime of the patient and, ideally, should be tailored to the illness cycle. The search for effective treatments has intensified recently due to our better understanding of the underlying neurobiologic mechanisms contributing to drug use and relapse. The three main types of treatment are behavioral, pharmacologic and, more recently, immunologic therapies. Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are being developed mainly for stimulant use disorders and nicotine addiction. In addition, new molecular targets identified by preclinical research have shown promise and are awaiting proof-of-concept studies in humans. The main focus of this review is on the development of immunotherapy for stimulants and nicotine addiction as a model highlighting the current status of the science and potential emerging discoveries and development.

Keywords: Cocaine abuse vaccine TA CD; Dependence; Drug withdrawal therapies; Immunological desensitisation; Immunostimulants; Nicotine abuse vaccine; Research and development; Substance abuse; Vaccines

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (DPMC), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Publication date: 2007-01-01