Chinese scientists are now claiming that they have found a really powerful mechanism that can inhibit and or totally switch off an individual's addiction to cocaine. 

According to Economic Times, a group of Chinese researchers have developed a special protein that can act as a switch to totally turn off cocaine addiction. 

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Cocaine is a highly addictive substance. Technically, it comes powder and crystal form. While the powder form of cocaine is usually ingested by mixing it with other substances such as talcum powder, sugar and starch, there is also users who prefer to sniff the drug or rub it into the gums.

There are also users who take extreme measures in abusing the substance by injecting it into their bodies. Unbeknownst to many abusers, cocaine is actually very dangerous since it can stimulate key receptors in the brain and alter their behavior. As per Drug-Free World, cocaine abusers die because of respiratory failure, heart attack, stroke and cerebral hemorrhage. 

In the Chinese study, scientists found that a transporter protein, called dopamine transporter - formed while an individual is undergoing the phase of getting addicted to the substance, can actually help experts counter cocaine addiction.

"We've found that the key difference lies in DAT's location in the brain," said lead researcher Zhou Jiawei, from the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "A countermove would block the migration so that the development of the addiction may be put off," he added.

Cocaine increases dopamine levels in the brain, which is evident in the pleasurable feeling substance users experience upon ingestion or inhalation. When cocaine inhibits the proteins responsible for reabsorbing proteins, the body reaches the state of being "high."

The Chinese scientists believe that the key to hindering cocaine addiction is by regulating the migration of DAT using small proteins, called VAV2, which act as a molecular switch.

Despite the discovery of VAV2's potential in stopping cocaine addiction, more studies are still needed to verify its use in rehabilitation efforts.

According to the World Drug Report this 2015, about 17 million people all over the world use and abuse cocaine. In the United States, approximately 14% of adults have tried using cocaine, while young men from 18 to 25 years of age are said to be the biggest cocaine users, according to WebMD. 

TagsScientists, cocaine, addiction