New vaccine to prevent stress being developed by scientist
California scientists have developed a new vaccine that can help lower or remove stress and make people relax.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, has been working on this vaccine for nearly 30 years and thinks he can alter the brain’s chemistry to remove stressful feelings. The vaccine was already tested on rats and the result was very optimistic.
The vaccine would stop the body’s hormone known as glucocorticoids from being produced excessively. Glucocorticoids are part of the immune system and the body produces too much of these when bodies are stressed.
The researchers used a herpes virus reprogrammed to be safe and to carry safe, anti-stress genes into the brain. The herpes virus is commonly used in gene therapy studies.
He warned that human trials are years to come, but added: “We have proved that it's possible. We can reduce the neural damage caused by stress.”