United States: A new vaccine against animal tranquilizer Xylazine reduces the probability of experiencing Xylazine-related adverse effects, which are being added to illegal drugs and cause an uptick in ODs.
The vaccine teaches the immune system to go after the drug and displays excellent results during animal trials, scientists added.
Kim Janda, senior researcher and, a professor of chemistry at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California “We demonstrated that a vaccine can reverse the symptoms of a xylazine overdose in rodents,”as US News reported.
The official call to curb the Xylazine OD menace
A sudden rise in drug OD deaths due to fentanyl seizures that contained Xylazine led the administration of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to call it an emerging threat in the United States, according to research.
Xylazine can make the effects of opioids more powerful, and the drug can even lead to breathing difficulties, as experts stated.
On the contrary, the standard first aid naloxone that is used to revive opioid drug OD is ineffective against Xylazine.
Similarly, Xylazine-like usage has been documented in other recreational drugs, for example, heroin and cocaine, scientists noted.
According to US News reports, it is believed that the action of Xylazine may occur by eliminating the blood delivery to the brain of any person. The medicine may not only result in skin lesions and wounds but also, in case the lesions and wounds do not heal, amputation of limbs is sometimes necessary.
Scientists designed a specific vaccine to start an immunity response against Xylazine, thereby letting the body be protected from the drug’s effects.
The findings of the new study were published recently in the journal Chemical Communications.
New Vaccine creation by scientists
Research personnel aimed to design a personalized vaccine that could initiate an immune response to Xylazine and defend the body from its disastrous effects.
The team tried three xylazine vaccine formulations based on the fact that the xylazine molecule was coupled with three different protein types, expecting an immune response that would result in the formation of anti-xylazine antibodies.
The other part of the research was the evaluation of how these vaccines would prevent an entry of Xylazine into the brain through the blood-brain barrier.
After local Xylazine is injected into a patient, it immediately breaks the barrier to interfere with brain receptors, as US News reported.
In addition to the fact that antibodies don’t easily cross the blood-brain barrier, the data showed that two of the vaccines very effectively prevented Xylazine from binding to brain receptors.
Antibodies typically can’t cross the blood-brain barrier, but two of the three vaccines showed a strong ability to stop Xylazine from reaching brain receptors.
Janda added, “A monoclonal antibody treatment could be given in tandem with the vaccine to provide both immediate and long-term protection from both opioid substance use disorders as well as opioid-xylazine overdoses,” and “This strategy could make a significant impact on the opioid epidemic.”