Alcoholism is one of the issues that most affects our society today. Many people have lost everything and end their lives living in the streets due to this addiction.
Nevertheless, nowadays the solution for this problem could go beyond psychological therapy. Do you know where is it? Here in Chile! A team of scientists from “Universidad de Chile” are working to produce an anti alcoholism vaccine. The vaccine injects a gene, already present in the 20% of the Asian population, which blocks the action of an enzyme, "dehyde dehydrogenase", this enzyme metabolizes the alcohol in our system. Without it, the unease provoked by the consumption of alcohol, such as dizziness, tachycardia or vasodilatation, is exacerbated. Therefore, patients react so violently to alcohol that it inhibits their addiction Most current therapies against alcoholism block this enzyme, but as they are patches or pills they depend on the patient’s will to take the medication. The vaccine affects the liver cells directly, and one shot a month would be sufficient to help alleviate the addiction.
When testing alcoholic rats, they diminished their consumption of alcohol by 50%. They hope to reduce the consumption of alcohol in humans by a 90% to 95%. The process is slow because they need to pass many stages to get the final product, but if everything goes as planned the vaccine will be available in 2014. But is it good to depend on a vaccine? Might more people start drinking alcohol recklessly because they know that a vaccine exists that could cure their addiction?
Here you can find some international news regarding this discovery
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2011/01/07/vaccine-alcoholism-works-chile/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1344971/Vaccine-alcoholism-works-making-feel-sick-drink.html
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159226.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/chilean-researchers-to-test-vaccine-against-alcholism/story-e6frg8y6-1225983868771
