London, England (CNN) -- An experimental vaccine for cocaine
addicts can help some users kick the habit, according to a new
study. An experimental vaccine makes recipients produce
antibodies to cocaine. Researchers at Yale School of Medicine
have tested a vaccine that makes people produce antibodies to
cocaine. The theory is that high levels of anti-cocaine
antibodies can inactivate cocaine before it enters the brain,
preventing users from getting high. Dr Thomas Kosten worked on
the study at Yale, before moving to Baylor College of Medicine,
in Texas. He told CNN that this is the first time a cocaine
vaccine has been tested in people, and that the vaccine approach
would be suitable for all kinds of addictive substances, except
alcohol. "Antibodies are very large proteins and when the
cocaine attaches to those antibodies it can't get into the brain
or heart, so people don't get high from it," Kosten told CNN.
Because users don't get high, the thinking is that they will
eventually stop taking cocaine. "What wa