Drug Fights Cocaine Addiction
Suggested lead: A drug that has shown promise in helping cigarette smokers conquer their addiction might also help cocaine addicts break free. Tom Britt has more.
The drug mecamylamine, used in combination with nicotine to help reduce the urge to smoke, has now been shown to reduce the craving for cocaine. Toxicologist Edward Levin of Duke University Medical Center says lab rats given mecamylamine drastically reduced the self administration of cocaine. Levin says the mecamylamine blocks the ability of nicotine and other drugs to generate feelings of pleasure in the brain. Levin says this is not a cure for cocaine addiction, any more than it cures nicotine addiction, but it can help the addict better control the cravings.
"With any sort of addiction there really is no magic bullet. Nothing is going to be like an anti-biotic and just suddenly cure you of the disorder. It really takes help with these drug treatments but it's also important to address the behavioral aspects of addiction as well."
Levin says there is still a lot of testing to be done before mecamylamine can be used in any cocaine treatment program. It was originally created to treat high blood pressure. I'm Tom Britt.
Levin says it's exciting that a drug found effective in treating one addiction may also be used to treat others.
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"Follow-up studies will be looking at longer periods of administration and also a wider dose range. So now that we have this kind of proof of principle, then we can go in and explore this avenue."