84902 - General Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy I

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - has an adequate knowledge of the interactions between drug and organism that determine its therapeutic effects; - knows the principles of pharmacodynamics, drug-receptor interaction and pharmacological actions not mediated by receptors; - knows the principles of pharmacokinetics, such as absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs, as well as their bioavailability and general biotransformation mechanisms; - knows the main factors of drug response variability and the main mechanisms and effects of drug interactions; - acquires the knowledge necessary for understanding the mechanisms of action and the therapeutic profile of the drugs used in anti-infective therapy and in anti-tumor chemotherapy; - knows the action mechanisms and the therapeutic profile of local anesthetics, of drugs active on the autonomic nervous system, on the neuromuscular junction, on uterine motility and used for migraine; - will know how to apply the knowledge learned for the practice of the profession, for the correct storage and dispensing of drugs, to inform and educate on the use of drugs and to monitor the management of appropriateness in the use of medicines and the continuity of adherence to drug therapy in chronic therapies

Course contents

MODULE OF GENERAL PHARMACOLOGY - Lecturer: Gabriele Campana

Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy: purpose, definitions. Concept of drug, medicine, poison. Pharmacodynamics: Mechanisms of drug action; Receptor classification Dose effect ratio. Pharmacological effects and therapeutic effects. Pharmacokinetics. General principles of drug transfer through biological membranes; Routes of administration and absorption of drugs; Drug binding to plasma proteins; Distribution and drugs; Biotransformation of drugs; Drug elimination; Bioavailability; half-life of a drug. Evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters (plasma clearance; half-life, repeated doses; bioavailability and bioequivalence; relative and absolute bioavailability). Variability in drug response: Drug-dependent and pharmaceutical-dependent factors. Drug interaction. Interaction between drugs and food. Variability in drug response. Factors dependent on the individual (species, race, age, sex, functional status of organs, eating or eating habits). Environmental factors. Variability in drug response. Factors related to exposure conditions (tolerance; tachyphylaxis; psychic and physical dependence; deprivation syndrome; narcotics). Drug development: Chemical and pharmacological studies. Preclinical and clinical studies. Drug control, methodologies and strategies in clinical pharmacology (phase I and II tests, phase III comparative tests, phase IV epidemiological studies). Regulation of clinical trials.

PHARMACOLOGY MODULE OF THE NERVOUS AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM - Lecturer: Gabriele Campana

Peripheral nervous system and neuromuscular junction. Anatomo-functional organization of the peripheral nervous system. Cholinergic agonists and antagonists and cholinesterase inhibitor drugs. Agonists and adrenergic antagonists. Pharmacology of neuromuscular transmission. Local anesthetics. Active medications on uterine motility. Drugs used for the treatment of headaches.

CHEMOTHERAPY MODULE - Lecturer: Andrea Bedini

Principles of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Mechanisms of action of different chemoantibiotics. Chemioresistance: origins and mechanisms. Antimcrobial association therapy. Main antimicrobial chemotherapy: Typical and atypical penemal betalactamine: penicillin G, aminopenicilline, acylureidopenicilline, betalactamic suicide inhibitors. Penemic betalactamine: carbapenems. Cephaemic betalactamine: first, second, third and fourth generation. Quinolones. Glucosidic macrolides. Aminoglycosides. Vancomycin and Teicoplanin Chloramphenicol, Tetracyclines, Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Antimycobacterial drugs: Streptomycin, Isoniazid, Ethambutol, Rifampicin and derivatives, Pyrazinamide, Dapsone, Clofamizine. Antifungal drugs: polyene macrolides, imidazole and triazole derivatives, various antifungal agents (griseovulvin, fluconazole), antifungals for topical use. Antimalarial drugs: Chloroquine and congeners, Sulfonamides-pyrimethamine, Mefloquine and Primachin, Proguanil, Quinine, Artemisin and its derivatives. Antiamebic drugs, drugs against leishmania, tripasonoma and toxoplasma. Antiviral drugs (non-retroviral): Nucleoside analogues (Aciclovir, Ganciclovir ...), Vidarabine, Ribavirin, Fomivirsen, Oseltamivir, Zanamivir, Interferon, Lamivudine. Antiretrovirals (reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors).

Anthelmintic drugs Anti-cancer chemotherapy. Pharmacological treatment of neoplasms and problems related to chemotherapy. Alkylating agents and related compounds, Antimetabolites, Natural products, Hormones and anti-hormones. New addresses in cancer therapy.

Readings/Bibliography

Module of General Pharmacology

 Recommended text:

F. Clementi, G. Fumagalli, "Farmacologia Generale e Molecolare", Fifth Edition, 2018 Ed. Edra

Module of the Autonomous Nervous System Pharmacology

  Recommended texts:

Stefano Govoni, Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Adele Lucchelli, Pierluigi Navarra, Marco Racchi, Francesco Scaglione, Santi Mario Spampinato. Farmacologia con sito web. Ambrosiana Publishing House, 2014.

Chemotherapy module

 Recommended texts:

Stefano Govoni, Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Adele Lucchelli, Pierluigi Navarra, Marco Racchi, Francesco Scaglione, Santi Mario Spampinato. Farmacologia con sito web. Ambrosiana Publishing

House, 2014. Golan D.E. Principles of Pharmacology - Ambrosiana Publishing House

Text to be used for further information

Goodman and Gilman. The pharmacological basis of therapies. XIII Ed. MacGraw-Hill, 2017.

Teaching methods

The course is organized in lectures.

Assessment methods

General Pharmacology Module

The learning assessment methods take place through an oral examination. This interview aims to verify the knowledge on the topics covered during the lessons of the module. The purposes of the verification focuses on the ability of the candidate to have learned the basics of the mechanisms of action of drugs, of how these are modified by the organism and how these modify the organism. The duration of the oral exam is on average 20-30 minutes. The student presents the answers to the questions to the commission. For each question posed, an assessment is made based on the correctness of the answers, on the demonstrated understanding of the principles learned and the level of exposure, also in relation to the different parts of the program as well as the previous knowledge, necessary for understanding the specific subject of exam. 

Autonomous Nervous System Module:

The exam includes a written test on the topics of the program. The test consists of 10 open questions and gives a score out of thirty. The minimum grade to pass the test is 18/30.

Chemotherapy Module: The exam includes a written test on the topics of the program. The test consists of 10 open questions and gives a score out of thirty. The minimum grade to pass the test is 18/30.

The final grade for the whole course is calculated as average of the marks obtained in thel oral and written examinations.

During the oral examination the candidate will not be able to use supporting material such as texts, notes or computer supports

Students should enroll in examination by Almaesami.

Teaching tools

Luminous blackboard

PC

Projectors

Office hours

See the website of Gabriele Campana

See the website of Andrea Bedini