Vaccines for substance abuse treatment: new approaches in the immunotherapy of addictions

Abstract

Addictions associated with the use of physoactive substances pose a serious threat for both patients and society and continue to be a serious medical social problem worlwide. A high recurrence rate makes especially topical the search for new approaches to the treatment and primary prevention of these diseases. The development of immunological and pharmacotherapeutic methods is a promising trend in the therapy of addictions. Immunization against diseased addiction or immunoprophylaxis are of practical significance to prevent futher recurrences and can be an efficient medical tool to eradicate dependence diseases. The review describes advances in the vaccine therapy of psychoactive substance abuse (drug abuse, tobacco smoking, and alcoholism), including preclinical and clinical trials of these medicines. New strategies to enhance the specific immune response by changing the structure of conjugated immunogen and adjuvant molecules are considered. The difficulties faced by the developers in clinical trials of vaccines are analyzed and new approaches to increase the therapeutic efficacy are reviewed.