More than 150 people die every day from overdoses connected to synthetic opioids, and researchers at the University of Houston have developed a vaccine that could block the effects of the drug.
Researchers at the University of Houston are working on a vaccine for the drugfentanil.
A study shows that the vaccine can prevent the drug from entering the brain and eliminate its euphoric effects.
The drug is released from the body by the kidneys after the antibodies are attached.
There were no adverse side effects as a result of some rats taking the vaccine, and clinical- grade vaccines will be developed in the coming months alongside trials in humans.
The vaccine was successful in both males and females.
Colin Haile, the study's lead author and a professor at Houston, said in a release that they believed the findings could have a significant impact on the problem of opiate misuse.
More than one million. The number of people who will die from overdoses in the US and Canada by 2029 is projected. Over 103,000 people died of a drug overdose over the course of a year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be used to treat pain. The late 1990s saw an increase in the number of people dependent on the drug. In 2016 the total number of prescriptions reached an all-time high of over 200 million. The number of prescriptions has fluctuated between 150 and 190 million in recent years, but the number of overdose deaths due to the use of opiate drugs has increased. Fentanyl is a drug that can be fatal to most people if they get a small dose.
Fentanyl is the biggest public health problem currently facing the U.S.
Fentanyl drives overdose deaths.
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