Publications by authors named "Vicky Chuong"

Opioids are powerful analgesic drugs that are used clinically to treat pain. However, chronic opioid use causes compensatory neuroadaptations that result in greater pain sensitivity during withdrawal, known as opioid withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia (OWIH). Cold nociception tests are commonly used in humans, but preclinical studies often use mechanical and heat stimuli to measure OWIH.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study explores how the ghrelin receptor (GHSR) influences feeding behaviors and diet-induced obesity (DIO) through research on gene deletion in male and female rats over a year on a high-fat diet (HFD).
  • - Findings indicate that deleting the GHSR gene protects male rats from DIO and decreases their food intake, while having different effects for females.
  • - The research also reveals that GHSR deletion enhances energy burning and alters brain glucose metabolism in males, suggesting GHSR could be a key target for obesity treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Growing evidence indicates that the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) system is involved in the neurobiology of addictive behaviors, and GLP-1 analogues may be used for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Here, we examined the effects of semaglutide, a long-acting GLP-1 analogue, on biobehavioral correlates of alcohol use in rodents. A drinking-in-the-dark procedure was used to test the effects of semaglutide on binge-like drinking in male and female mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Evidence suggests that spironolactone, a nonselective mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist, modulates alcohol seeking and consumption. Therefore, spironolactone may represent a novel pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD). In this study, we tested the effects of spironolactone in a mouse model of alcohol drinking (drinking-in-the-dark) and in a rat model of alcohol dependence (vapor exposure).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Exogenous administration of uric acid, a naturally occurring antioxidant that scavenges reactive oxygen species in vasculature, has shown protective efficacy in both rodent models of stroke and human stroke patients in Spain as an adjuvant treatment to mechanical thrombectomy. Before clinical trials can be initiated in the United States, however, confirmation of efficacy in alternative preclinical models is required in accordance with stroke therapy academic industry roundtable-RIGOR criteria. To date, preclinical efficacy has only been established in the acute setting in male rodents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF