Only 200 years ago, the doctors had given up before smallpox, from ancient times was considered a human disaster. In the XVIII century from it died every year 400 thousand Europeans, and vaccination against this plague was a real miracle. Modern scientists create vaccines that, under forecasts, will cope with not less terrible disease...

If not for the cow...

Like many discoveries, vaccination against smallpox was created accidentally. English physician Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids, after some disease cow pox, never fall ill with smallpox human. He thought, then decided: may 14, 1796 made public experience - in the presence of doctors and outside the public Jenner took smallpox with hands milkmaids infected cow pox, and instilled in her eight-year-old boy. After a few days the baby developed a slight indisposition, which quickly passed. But if he is now immune to the present smallpox? Again needed the experience, but this time far more dangerous. Six weeks later, the boy was grafted human smallpox, and... the disease has not developed. So, Jenner invented the way of vaccination ("vaccine" comes from the Latin word "wakka" - "cow"), which brought salvation to millions of people. Of course, since then, much water has flowed - modern preventive vaccine that doeth many miracles! Can protect against dangerous diseases for decades or even for life. "Work" they are due to the introduction of drugs markers, called antigens, "training" the immune system to recognize and destruction of dangerous microbes. Actually, this did Jenner - introduced to their patients antigens cowpox, preparing them immune system to attack similar virus human.

The first experiments

Perhaps the most intriguing experiments with vaccines are researchers studying cancer. This is understandable, because the horrible disease is on the first place among the causes of death in the world.

Initial steps to the invention of a vaccine against this enemy were made by the U.S. surgeon William Kolya. In 1891, he began to enter to patients suffering from end-stage cancer of the bone, injection streptococcal bacteria. The vaccine If reduced the size of the tumor, but two of his patients died. Then he tested the vaccine, including "dead" in the process of heating bacteria (later called a "toxin Koli"). And this treatment was widely used until the 1940's, when it was replaced by chemotherapy. American society for cancer control very quickly after that brought Coli toxin in the "black book", calling quackery. But the method were supporters. For example, the American immunologist Lloyd Ould said that the bad reputation of the vaccine If due to the fact that "nobody knows how it worked". But it worked! Yes, not perfectly. Yes, not in all cases, but even one or two lives in this battle - success. And If saved them a lot more...

Injections for diabetics

If the cancer patient's immune system is too tolerant of diseased cells, those who suffer from autoimmune diseases, the opposite problem: for some reason, the cells of the immune system "rebel" against their own healthy, for example, producing a protein hormone insulin produced by the pancreas. Therefore, people suffering from diabetes, has several times a day to do injections of insulin to survive. The task protivodiabeticakih vaccine is to stop the attack of the body to itself. Over this vaccine are now canadian scientists from the Research centre for diabetes at the University of calgary. At this stage, vaccine effectiveness is confirmed in mice: injection restore normal levels of blood sugar and insulin levels in patients animals. "But we don't know yet whether the vaccine to work for the people, " says Dr. Santamaria, who heads the research.

Vaccination against one of the hormones your body seems contrary to common sense, even dangerous. But its going to use. For example, to reduce the worldwide obesity epidemic. Agree, for such a risk is worth. The appearance of such vaccines is very important for Russia, where overweight suffer 25% of the population, and 30% - from obesity. Of course, you can still take comfort in the joke about the fact that "a good man should be a lot", but obesity does not make a cheerful and good-natured, on the contrary - the weak and the sick. This vaccine, created by the American scientists, inhibits the action of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite. It slows down the rate of increase in body weight and helps to reduce the storage of fat in the body, confirmed that animal testing.

As stated by the makers of this drug, it can be useful to combat so-called "effect yo-yo". The name is beautiful, but a phenomenon that is hidden behind it, it is not attractive: following the weight loss during the diet of people quickly return their weight. This is the "yo-yo". Oh, how many women will tell you that afraid of not less cancer! And now a group of scientists led by Dr. Eric Zorrilla during the year plan to begin tests of a vaccine on humans.

Has pricked and forgotten?

And Thomas bone, psychology Professor, Baylor medical College in Houston, developing a vaccine that forever would beat cravings for cocaine use. The problem is that almost all drugs, including cocaine, consist of molecules, which size is too small, so the immune system can recognize them and to include a reaction, so the body does not produce antibodies that bind and neutralize molecule drug. Bone has developed a way to "help" the immune system: he combined inactivated molecules of cocaine with inachtivirovnie protein V. cholerae, assuming that thus obtained synthetic molecules "megamachine" the body must respond - to send into battle antibodies that recognize and real drugs. Bone convinced that vaccination will help those who want to overcome this dependence. Because patients after vaccination already will not experience drug euphoria.

And why spend a lot of money, if it does not bring high?! Four years ago, bone, working at Yale medical school, conducted an experiment with participation of volunteers who wanted to be free from addiction. The result seemed to be impressive: get the vaccine people really did not feel pleasure from consuming the drug. But! Only the first 12 weeks, and a year later up to your old tricks all participants of the experiment. The reason for the failure, according to Kostina 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 of drugs you imagine?

So, such a vaccine is useless? Oh, no! Can't leave the job half! Science immunotherapy so young! And therapeutic vaccination, certainly, will become a powerful weapon in the struggle against diseases. Just scientists have not managed to "teach" created by vaccine "work" without overloading. But still ahead - the road by walking!