Another Treatment Option for Heroin Addicts

Help in another form may be on the way for heroin addicts. In five years, researchers say a vaccine will be available as another treatment option for patients addicted to heroin. According to a report from the Mexican Health Secretary, upon further testing, the vaccine could also be used for cocaine and methamphetamine users.

The vaccine works in a way that when patients who are seeking help for their drug dependency can receive injections of the vaccine it will eliminate the feeling they would get from the drug itself. It blocks certain transmitters in the brain from feeling the traditional effects of heroin. Scientists say the vaccine helps to take away any feeling of high the user would receive, so the draw to going back to drug use could be eliminated.

Researchers, from the National Institute of Psychiatry (INP), say this treatment obviously is for patients who are open to receiving help and this may be just another option for them to officially be able to kick their habit.

The draw for most heroin users is the feeling they get from the drug. They feel calm and a sense of relaxation. Stronger doses often make them fatigued and extreme cases can lead to overdose and death.

The five-year timeframe on the vaccine being available is based on further study and development that is needed. It has been tested on rats so far and is in the process of being studied in humans. If the continued research proves successful, then having another form of treatment could be all the difference for patients who struggle with this type of drug addiction. Whatever options become available are just more opportunities for users to get on the right path living life without drug abuse.