Cocaine pharmacology and current pharmacothetherapies for its abuse

Cocaine abuse continues to be prevalent and effective therapies for cocaine craving and addiction remain elusive. In the last decade immunopharmacotherapy has been proposed as a promising means to alleviate this illness. By using the organism's natural immune response, an anti-cocaine vaccine promotes the production of cocaine-specific antibodies that sequester the drug before their passage into the brain, where it exerts its reinforcing and thus addictive effects. A series of studies demonstrating the cocame-blocking properties of various immunogenic conjugates will be reviewed in the context of the neuropsychopharmacological profile of the drug. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.