By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthy nursing school habits
    Healthy Habits for Nursing Student Nursing School Students
    May 24, 2024
    High Deductables
    High-Deductible Insurance and Rising Bad Debt
    July 24, 2015
    How People Are Taking Advantage of Health Deals in the Recent Recession
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: SNMMI 2013: Molecular Imaging Reveals Problems For Smokers’ Shot
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > SNMMI 2013: Molecular Imaging Reveals Problems For Smokers’ Shot
Public Health

SNMMI 2013: Molecular Imaging Reveals Problems For Smokers’ Shot

Steve Goldstein
Last updated: June 10, 2013 3:30 pm
Steve Goldstein
Share
5 Min Read
Image
SHARE

The “Holy Grail” for researchers in the anti-smoking field is a vaccine that would curb the addiction by inhibiting the action of nicotine and its pleasure-producing chemical response in the brain. (Maybe it should be called the “Anti-Smoking Gun.”) But molecular imaging has revealed that the latest shot for smokers is still a long shot.

The “Holy Grail” for researchers in the anti-smoking field is a vaccine that would curb the addiction by inhibiting the action of nicotine and its pleasure-producing chemical response in the brain. (Maybe it should be called the “Anti-Smoking Gun.”) But molecular imaging has revealed that the latest shot for smokers is still a long shot.

The news was released during the 2013 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging in Vancouver, B.C. SNMMI has returned to Canada, a favored locale, after last year’s session in Miami Beach. Vancouver is the polar opposite of Miami, and that’s not just a commentary on the difference in temperatures. You might need a sweater or an anorak here in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s a scenic wonderland and Canadians are, well, notoriously friendly.

Image

More Read

Expanding Medicaid benefits for improved behavioral health care, substance abuse treatment
BioPharma Beat: The Promise of Diagnostics and Precision Medicine
UnitedHealth, YMCA Expand Diabetes Prevention Program with P4P for Walgreens
Smart Vending Machines Use Facial Recognition
The Traditional Patient “Sick Role” Is A Major Barrier To High Quality Health Care

No doubt the setting is a bit distracting to the more than 5,000 attendees and the 173 exhibitors. Especially when the meeting site, the stylish Vancouver Convention Center, is sited alongside the Vancouver cruise ship terminal boarding lucky passengers for a trip up Alaska’s inside Passage.

Some 1,600 scientific abstracts will be presented during the meeting, which concludes Wednesday. Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses small amounts of radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals) to diagnose, guide management and treat disease. Most nuclear medicine procedures are molecular imaging procedures that use radioactive substances to visualize the molecular processes through which the body functions. Molecular level data — more precise than anatomical or structural data — helps physicians personalize treatment.

A study led by Alexey G. Mukhin, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University Medical Center used molecular imaging to demonstrate that a proposed vaccine produced no desirable effect and potentially allowed even more nicotine accumulation in the brain in some cases due to variations in immune response. “This research represents one of the first human studies of its kind using molecular imaging to test an investigational anti-nicotine immunization and how it affects the accumulation of nicotine in the brain during smoking,” said Mukhin.

The anti-nicotine immunization introduces an antigen that induces production of antibodies that bind circulating nicotine and prevent it from crossing the blood-brain barrier to produce rewarding effects — an addictive “high” — for smokers. “In order to work, one milligram of the nicotine from smoking one cigarette needs about half a gram of antibody for proper attachment and prevention with brain nicotinic receptors,” said Duke research team member Yantao Zuo, PhD. “A very high number of antibodies is needed to negate the effects of nicotine from one pack of cigarettes — up to 10 percent of the 100 grams of antibodies we have available in the body.”Image

So, if the binding of nicotine with antibodies is weak and the nicotine-antibody bond breaks during passage of the blood through the brain, potentially more nicotine could flood brain nicotinic receptors. “Investigational anti-nicotinic vaccines produce non-uniform effects,” Mukhin said. “Ideally we want it to decrease the amount of nicotine that reaches the brain, but when we compared the immune response across subjects, their antibodies appeared to vary in nicotine-binding properties. Findings from positron emission tomography (PET) showed that strong nicotine-antibody binding, which means high affinity, was associated with a decrease in brain nicotine accumulation. But when binding was not strong, an increase in brain accumulation was observed.”

The results are crucial, said Mukhin, because they reveal that the quality of the antibody is as important as the amount of antibody. Low-affinity antibodies can negate the anti-nicotine effects of the vaccination.

Bottom line: A shot in the arm is not going to replace willpower anytime soon for smokers hoping to quit. Mukhin said further studies and other concepts for vaccination are in the pipeline. Perhaps Mayor Mike Bloomberg needs to step in!

smoker image: smoker/shutterstock

TAGGED:smoking vaccine
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

Public Health

A U.S. Marine’s Gift to a Doctor

July 15, 2013

Walmart’s Greatest Gift

December 25, 2011

Cancer/Cell Phone Connection Challenged

June 7, 2011
FitnessHealth carePublic Health

Learn About Anxious Eating And How To Stop It In 5 Steps

April 28, 2020
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?