As you have heard in the news, there is a fentanyl epidemic where synthetic Fentanyl made in China and brought into the US by drug cartels is poisoning people. It has become so bad that many cities have vending machines for the Narcan antidote. Fentanyl is a member of the opiate class of medications. Opiates are derived from morphine which is made from the opiate poppy. I wanted to differentiate between the terms opioids and opiates. Opioids are the natural pain-relieving compounds made by our bodies. Opiates are compounds that are made for medications or narcotics. Thus Fentanyl (pronounced “fenta-nil” not “fenta-nol.”) is an opiate. Heroin is also in the opiate class.
When used recreationally, opiate ingestion provides people with a “high” characterized by euphoria. The opiates act on the mu-opioid receptor in the brain that provides the high. Where opiates become an issue is that the body rapidly becomes tolerant, which leads to dependency/addiction. In an overdose, opiates depress brain function enough that it can stop breathing. Synthetic Fentanyl is many times more potent than opiates such as morphine, hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet), Oxycontin, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), and even heroin. Being so powerful, it has what we call a “narrow therapeutic index,” meaning you must dose it correctly to avoid overdose or death.
Fentanyl, on its own or when used to taint other drugs, has caused so many overdoses that it is now considered poisoning. The numbers of deaths in the US last year alone are in the 100,000 range.
One of the novel potential solutions, in addition to the antidote Narcan, is the development of a Fentanyl vaccine. The Fentanyl vaccine, which is currently in development, works the same way as a standard
vaccination for infectious diseases does. It stimulates the body’s immune system to “neutralize” something. In the case of Fentanyl, being vaccinated will prevent the Fentanyl from entering the brain and suppressing respiration. It can be used to help people addicted to opiates by assisting them in their recovery and preventing poisoning from unintentionally ingesting a lethal dose.
It is currently being tested in mice, and we may see this out on the market in the near future.
