Total 200 years ago, doctors throw up their hands in front of smallpox, since ancient times was regarded as a human disaster.In the XVIII century from her dying each year 400,000 Europeans, and vaccination against this plague was a real miracle.Modern scientists create vaccines that are projected to cope with the equally terrible disease ...
If not cow ...
Like many discoveries, vaccination against smallpox was created by accident.English physician Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids, ill with cowpox never get sick of human smallpox.He thought a lot, then decided: May 14, 1796 made the public experience - in the presence of doctors and the public outside smallpox Jenner took the hand with a milkmaid, infected with cowpox, and instilled in her eight-year boy.A few days later the child appeared slight indisposition, which quickly passed.But whether he was now immune to this pox?Again, experience is needed, but this time much more dangerous.Six weeks later the boy was grafted human smallpox, and ... did not develop the disease.For Jenner invented vaccination method ("vaccine" is derived from the Latin word "Vacca" - "cow"), which brought salvation to millions of people.Of course, since then much water has flowed - modern preventive vaccines create many miracles!May protect against dangerous diseases for decades or even for life."Works" are due to the introduction of drugs markers, also called antigens, "trainees" the immune system to recognize and destruction of dangerous microbes.Actually, it did Jenner - introduced their patients antigens vaccinia preparing their immune system to attack the virus-like human.
first experiments
Perhaps the most intriguing experiments with vaccines involved researchers studying cancer.This is understandable, because the terrible disease ranks first among causes of death in the world.
initial steps to the invention of a vaccine against this enemy were made American surgeon William Coley.In 1891, he began to be administered to patients suffering from terminal cancer bone injection of streptococcal bacteria.Coley vaccine reduces the size of the tumor, but also two of his patients died.Then he tested the vaccine includes a "dead" in the process of heating the bacteria (later called it "Coley toxin").And this treatment is widely used until the 1940s when it was replaced chemotherapy.The American Society for the fight against cancer very quickly then skidded Coley toxin in the "black book" and called quackery.But there were also supporters of the method.For example, an American immunologist Lloyd Ould said that the bad reputation of the vaccine Coley explained by the fact that "no one just does not know how it worked."But it worked!Yes, it is not trouble-free.Yes, in all cases, but even one or two lives saved in this fight - success.And if he saved them much more ...
injections for diabetics
If a cancer patient's immune system is too tolerant of diseased cells, then those who suffer from autoimmune diseases, the problem is the opposite: for some reason, the immune system cells"revolt" against its own healthy, for example, producing a protein hormone insulin produced by the pancreas.Therefore, people with diabetes, it is necessary several times a day to make insulin injections to stay alive.Task antidiabetic vaccine is to stop attacks on the body itself.Above this vaccine are now working Canadian scientists from the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Calgary.At this stage, the effectiveness of the vaccine was confirmed in mice: Injection restore normal blood sugar and insulin levels in infected animals."But we do not know yet whether the vaccine will work in humans," - says Dr. Santamaria, who led the study.
Vaccination against one of the body's own hormones seems contrary to common sense, even dangerous.However, its going to be used.For example, to reduce the worldwide epidemic of obesity.Agree, for the sake of such a risk is worth it.The emergence of such a vaccine is very important for Russia, where are overweight 25% of the population, and 30% - from obesity.Of course, you can continue to console themselves with a joke about the fact that "a good man should be a lot," but obese does not make a person happy and good-natured, the opposite - weak and sick.The vaccine, created by American scientists, inhibits the action of ghrelin - a hormone that stimulates appetite.It slows down the rate of weight gain and helps to reduce fat deposits in the body, which was confirmed by tests on animals.
As stated by the creators of the drug, it may be useful to deal with so-called "yo-yo effect."The name of a beautiful, but the phenomenon is behind it, it is not attractive: after the weight loss during a diet people quickly returned to their weight.This is the "yo-yo."Oh, how many women will tell you that they are afraid of not less cancer!And now a group of scientists led by Dr. Eric Zorrilla during the year are going to begin testing the vaccine on humans.
pricked forgotten?
And Thomas Kosten, professor of psychology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is developing a vaccine that would be forever repulsed cravings for cocaine.The problem is that nearly all drugs, including cocaine, are composed of molecules that are too small for the immune system to recognize them and enable a response, so the body does not produce antibodies that bind and neutralize the drug molecule.Kosten has developed a way to "help" the immune system, he joined inactivated cocaine molecules with an inactivated cholera proteins, suggesting that the thus obtained synthetic molecules "megakokaina" the body must respond - send into battle antibodies that recognize and this drug.Kosten convinced that vaccination will help those who want to deal with this dependence.Because patients after vaccination will no longer experience the euphoric drug.And why spend a lot of money if it does not bring the buzz ?!Four years ago, the bones, working at the Yale School of Medicine, conducted an experiment with volunteers who wanted to get rid of addiction.The result seemed impressive: people really get the vaccine have not experienced the pleasure of drug use.But!Only the first 12 weeks, and a year later took all the old participants in the experiment.The reason for the failure, according to Costa, lies in the peculiarities of our immune system: it is fit to fight pathogens that enter the body in very small quantities.Well, the dose drugs - do you imagine?
So, these vaccines are useless?Oh no!We should not leave the work half way!Science immunotherapy is so young!And therapeutic vaccination, certainly will eventually become a powerful weapon in the fight against diseases.Just scientists still could not "teach" they create a vaccine "work" without misfires.But ahead - the road by walking!
Anastasia Smirnova
Articles Source: oracle-today.ru
