91026 - General Pharmacology, Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacotherapy I

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - knows the different mechanisms of action of the drugs, including the characteristics and the pharmacodynamic consequences of their interaction with the biological structures responsible for the therapeutic and toxic effects, as well as the criteria for the quantification of the responses; - knows the principles of pharmacokinetics, such as the absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs, as well as their bioavailability and the general biotransformation mechanisms; - knows the main factors of the variability of the response to drugs and the main mechanisms and effects of drug interactions; - acquires the general concepts of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics; - knows the genetic bases of inter-individual variability in drug response and genetic polymorphisms involved in the distribution, elimination, metabolism and therapeutic response to drugs; - acquires the necessary knowledge to understand the mechanisms of action and the therapeutic profile of the drugs used in anti-infective therapy and in anticancer chemotherapy; - knows the mechanisms of action and the therapeutic profile of local anesthetics, of drugs active on the autonomic nervous system, on the neuromuscular junction, and on uterine motility - knows how to apply the knowledge learned for the conduct of the profession, for the proper storage and dispensation of medicines, to inform and educate on the use of medicines and to monitor the management of the appropriateness in the use of medicines and the continuity of adherence to drug therapy in chronic therapies.

Course contents

MODULE 1 - Lucia Carboni

Pharmacology definitions and applications. Drugs as tools for pharmacotherapy and for biological investigation.

Pharmacokinetics: routes of drug administration and adsorption; drugs movement across biological membranes; bioavailability; drug distribution among body compartments, distribution volume, plasma protein binding; biotransformation; drug excretion; plasma concentration patterns after single or repeated administration.

Pharmacodynamics: sites and mechanisms of actions of drugs; drug-receptor interactions and their cellular consequences; dose-response relationships; drugs acting as agonists, antagonists or partial agonists; factors modifying drug actions (e.g. age, pathologies, drug interactions, tolerance, placebo). Drug interactions. Tolerance and abuse liability.

Pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics.

Functional organization of the autonomic and peripheral nervous system and of the neuromuscular junction.

Cholinergic agonists and antagonists and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Adrenergic agonists and antagonists.

Pharmacology of the neuromuscular transmission.

Local anaesthetics.

Drugs acting on uterine motility.

Drugs used for migraine.

MODULE 2 Eleonora Turrini

CHEMOTHERAPY

- Introduction

Microbial diseases:

- Antimicrobial agents: penicillins, cephalosporins and other b-lactam compounds; macrolides, ketolides and lincosamides; aminoglycosides; fluoroquinolones; glycopeptides; amphenicols; tetracyclines; rifamycins; sulfonamides e pyrimidines; drugs for tuberculosis.

- Antifungal agents

- Antiviral agents

Parasitic infections:

- Antiprotozoal agents: malaria; leishmaniasis; amebiasis, giardiasis and trichomoniasis; toxoplasmosis; trypanosomiasis.

Neoplastic disorders:

- Alkylating agents

- Antimetabolite agents

- Topoisomerase inhibitors

- Microtubule inhibitors

- Hormone antagonists

- Other signal transduction inhibitors and cytotoxic antibodies

Readings/Bibliography

Ritter JM et al., Rang & Dale's Pharmacology, Elsevier

Katzung BG, Trevor AJ, Basic & clinical pharmacology, McGraw-Hill

Clementi F, Fumagalli G, General and Molecular Pharmacology: Principles of Drug Action, Wiley

Whalen, Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology, Lippincott Williams

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Assessment methods

Module 1 - Learning assessment will be carried out by an oral exam on the course programme. The duration of the oral test is about 30 minutes. Marks will be attributed based on student’s answers, demonstrating the comprehension of the principles learned, and the quality of exposure, also in relationship to the previous knowledge necessary for the understanding of specific exam topics.

Module 2 - For module 2, Chemotherapy, there is a compulsory written test. The written test is judged as positive with 60% of correct answers (30 out of 50 total questions). The result of the written test is expressed with a grade, is valid for one year, and contributes to the overall evaluation mark (weighted average) of the final oral exam.

The final mark of the course (total 8 credits) is defined as weighed average, by evaluating the mark of the oral test (Module 1), as well as that obtained from the written test (Module 2). The overall judgment resulting from the two modules will determine the final mark out of thirty.

In order to take the examination, the student must have attended at least  70% of the lectures. Students are reminded to check the pre-requisites listed in the course structure diagram.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the responsible office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Material will be available in Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Lucia Carboni

See the website of Eleonora Turrini