COCAINE ``VACCINE'' BLUNTS CRAVING IN ADDICTED ANIMALS

NEW YORK, - In laboratory animals, a vaccine
has been used successfully to fight cocaine addiction, according to a
study presented this week at the American Chemical Society's annual
meeting in New Orleans.

At the meeting, Dr. Kim D. Janda of The Scripps Research Institute in
La Jolla, California, described how the technique ''effectively blunts
cocaine's effect in rats.''

Janda explained that the cocaine molecule is too small to stimulate an
immune response. His team overcame the problem by attaching a
derivative of cocaine to a larger protein -- and found that the result
does stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies. The technique
can be used to ``train'' the immune system to produce the antibodies.
Over several weeks, amounts of these antibodies build up in the body.

The antibodies work by attaching themselves to cocaine molecules in
the blood, stopping them from reaching receptors in the brain, thus
blocking their effects.

The investigators have also developed monoclonal antibodies that
degrade cocaine and effectively rid the body of its breakdown
products. This technique ``could be used in the emergency room for
overdoses,'' Janda explained.

The Scripps investigator added that his team is hoping to begin
clinical trials of the two types of ''immuno-pharmacotherapy''
techniques against cocaine by the winter of 2000.