Sandra C. Roerig, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience
Dean of Graudate Studies and Associate Dean of Research
Ph.D., 1988, Medical College of Wisconsin

Major Research Interests:
Mechanisms of development of tolerance and physical dependence to opioids; studied using both behavioral and biochemical approaches. Mechanism for the interactions between the spinal opioid and adrenergic systems for expression of analgesia. Role of nitric oxide in inflammation-induced pain.

Ongoing studies investigate pathways involved in both acute nociceptive pain and chronic inflammation-induced pain. In acute nociceptive pain models, the analgesic synergistic interaction between spinal opioid and alpha2 adrenergic agonists is decreased to an additive interaction in both morphine-tolerant and clonidine-tolerant mice. The mechanism for this interaction may involve protein kinase C-dependent pathways. Spinal nitric oxide appears to play a role in chronic inflammation-induced pain. Mechanisms underlying these effects are currently under investigation.

Selected Recent Publications:
Wei, Zhong you and Sandra C. Roerig, Spinal morphine/clonidine antinociceptive synergism is regulated by protein kinase C, but not protein kinase A activity, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Therap. 287:937-943 (1998)

Li, Yaohui and Sandra C. Roerig, Alteration of Spinal Protein Kinase C Expression and Kinetics in Morphine. but not Clonidine Tolerance, Biochem Pharmacol., 58:493-501 (1999)

Roerig, Sandra C., Timothy Busch and Yaohui Li, Decreased spinal morphine/clonidine antinociceptive synergism in clonidine-tolerant mice, Analgesia, 4:187-195 (1999)

Karim, Farzana and Sandra C. Roerig, Differential effects of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides directed against Gza and Goa on antinociception produced by spinal opioid and a2 adrenergic receptor agonists,Pain, 87 181-191 (2000)

Tedesco, Laura, John Fuseler, Matther Grisham, Robert Wolf and Sandra C. Roerig, Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors reverse hyperalgesia but not inflammation in a rat model of chronic arthritis Pain, 95 215-223 (2002)

Guoqiang Guan, Scott Baker, and Sandra C. Roerig:, Inhibition of spinal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity reverses carrageenan (CARRA)-induced hyperalgesia but not inflammation in rats, The FASEB J., 16 (4) A170.12 (2002)

Contact Info:
Dr. Sandra Roerig
Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Dean School of Graduate Studies
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
1501 Kings Highway
Shreveport, LA 71130-3932
318-675-7877
318-675-4343 (fax)
sroeri@lsuhsc.edu