BASIC AND CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY: INTRODUCTION-NERVOUS SYSTEM

ΒΑΣΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΚΛΙΝΙΚΗ ΦΑΡΜΑΚΟΛΟΓΙΑ: ΕΙΣΑΓΩΓΗ-ΝΕΥΡΙΚΟ ΣΥΣΤΗΜΑ

BASIC AND CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY: INTRODUCTION – NERVOUS SYSTEM

COURSE CODEBE1101

COURSE INSTRUCTORDimas Konstantinos, Professor 

CO-INSTRUCTORSA. Vasilaki, E. Begas PhD, teaching assistants, invited speakers.

ECTS:6.00

COURSE TYPE

CC | Scientific Area

TEACHING SEMESTER5st SEMESTER

WEEKLY TEACHING HOURS:8 HOURS

Total Time (Teaching Hours + Student Workload)194 HOURS

PREREQUIRED COURSES:

NO

LANGUAGE OF TEACHING AND EXAMSGREEK

AVAILABLE TO ERASMUS STUDENTSYES

SEMESTER LECTURES:DETAILS/LECTURES

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS :

Face to Face & Online (in case of need)

Use of ICT in teaching:
 Distribution of lectures visual materials
 Use of Microsoft Teams online application for conducting
lectures in case of problem (e.g. pandemic).
 Use of Microsoft Teams online application for communication
with students (sending written messages/video calls and
sending assignments).

 Use of the online Interactive Clinical Pharmacology
application (http://www.icp.org.nz) for students to practice
pharmacokinetics during online lectures, as well as offline at
their convenience.
Use of ICT in Laboratory Education:
 Training in the use of an automated analysis system for the
determination of drug levels in biological samples of patients
in the context of the laboratory exercise “Clinical Application
of Pharmacokinetics”. The exercise is conducted in the Clinical
Pharmacology Laboratory of the University Hospital of
Larissa.
 Use of the program OBSim: Organ Bath Simulation
(http://spider.science.strath.ac.uk/sipbs/software_sims.htm)
and spreadsheet software (Excel) for the implementation of
the laboratory exercise “Pharmacodynamics & Autonomic
Nervous System Drugs: Actions of Acetylcholine & Atropine
on the Isolated Ileum (in silico experiment).” The exercise
takes place in the Computer Science Laboratory (30
workstations) and the use of the programs is carried out
individually by each student.
Use of ICT in communication with students:
 Posting of lecture materials on the e-class platform of the
Faculty of Medicine.
 Posting of weekly schedules for lectures and laboratory
exercises on e-class.
 Posting of all announcements on electronic platforms of the
Faculty of Medicine.
 Completion of an electronic evaluation form by each student.
 Electronic communication with students regarding scientific
or administrative issues that arise during the semester.


STUDENT EVALUATIONThe language of assessment is English.
Assessment of the course: written exams with multiple choice
questions, short answer questions, problem solving, or a
combination of these.
Assessment of laboratory exercises: written exam after each
exercise with multiple choice questions and/or submission of a
report.
The final grade is calculated based on the grades of the course
exam and the laboratory exercises.

Objective Objectives/Desired Results:

The course is designed to bridge basic science and clinical practice and to emphasize the fundamental importance of drugs as one of the primary means of preventing and alleviating disease.
Students will first be introduced to the principles of pharmacology and the concepts that underlie the field of pharmacology at a practical (clinical) level: receptor, molecular mechanism of drug action, pharmacokinetics and dosing regimens, pharmacogenetics, and personalized therapy/dosage and generic drugs. You will also be introduced to the concept of gene therapy, its promise, and problems, and to a new group of therapeutic agents known as biopharmaceuticals, their main differences from “conventional” drugs and the way they have already influenced the treatment of diseases.
In addition to introducing students to the basic concepts, the learning objectives of the course include the pharmacology of the autonomic and central nervous systems. Teaching the pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system helps to understand the mechanisms by which drugs affect the function of many other systems of the human body and will be discussed in the following semester, such as the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, etc. (BASIC AND CLINICAL SYSTEMS PHARMACOLOGY – CHEMOTHERAPY). In this sense, the course is the foundation upon which the student will build to understand the rationale for administering certain drugs versus others to patients during their clinical practice in their senior years.
Central Nervous System Pharmacology analyzes drugs used to treat a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, as well as drugs used for analgesia and anesthesia. In addition, many drugs that act on the CNS are used without a prescription to enhance wellbeing, leading to addiction. Finally, as part of a comprehensive picture of the student’s understanding of the treatment of everyday morbid conditions that affect the quality of life of the population, drugs with anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic properties, as well as allergies, are included and discussed.
Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:
• Understand the basic principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics, bioequivalence, as well as the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of drugs, and particularly those used to affect the autonomic and central nervous system.
• Understand the meaning of drug potency, efficacy, indications, side effects, safety, and toxicity.
• Know the value of individualized pharmacotherapy before he is exposed to clinical practice.

General Abilities

Since prescribing drugs to patients is tantamount to obtaining a medical degree, the student must be scientifically qualified to assume this responsibility. The objective of this course is to
train the student to search, analyze, and then synthesize all the pharmacological data that must be considered in order to make the optimal decision in prescribing the appropriate drug for each patient.


Course URL :http://eclass.uth.gr/eclass/courses/SEYA121/

Course Description:Section 1: General Principles of Pharmacology
1. Introduction
2. Drug Receptors & Pharmacodynamics
3. Pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion of drugs)
4. Bioequivalence studies
5. Biopharmaceuticals and Gene Therapy
6. Pharmacogenetics
7. Safety of Drugs – Pharmacovigilance 
Section 2: Pharmacology of the Nervous System
8. Neuropharmacology – Pharmacology of the Autonomic Nervous System
9. Cholinomimetics & Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors
10. Anticholinergic/Parasympathetic Drugs
11. Adrenergic Receptor Agonist and Other Sympathomimetics
12. Drugs Adrenergic Receptor Antagonists
13. Central Nervous System (CNS) Pharmacology – Neurotransmission & Drug Action in the CNS
14. Pharmacological Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders/Dementia
15. Pharmacotherapy for Parkinson’s and Huntington ‘s Diseases
16. Pharmacological Treatment of Other Neurodegenerative Disorders – Ischemic Stroke, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ( ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy ( SMA ), Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
17. Pharmacological Treatment of Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder
18. Pharmacological Treatment of Depression
19. Pharmacological Treatment of Anxiety
20. Sedatives – Hypnotics
21. Antiepileptic drugs
22. Local and General Anesthetics
23. Muscle relaxants
24. Opioid Analgesics & Antagonists
25. Addictive drugs
26. Pharmacological Treatment of Migraine
Section 3: Pain, Allergy an Inflammation
27. Autocoids, Histamine, Serotonin and Bradykinin
28. Pharmacological Treatment of Headache & Migraine
29. Anti-inflammatory, Antipyretic & Analgesic Agents
Section 4: Special Topics in Pharmacology
30. Pharmacological Treatment and Management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
31. Introduction to Toxicology: Common poisons and antidotes
32. Vitamins
33. Drugs to Treat Alcohol Use Disorder (ethanol and other alcohols) 
SEMINAR
1. Drug Prescription
LABORATORY CLASSES
1. Clinical Application of Pharmacokinetics: Determination of drug levels in biological samples from patients.
2. Drug Metabolism: Chromatographic determination of caffeine metabolic ratios in urine samples from volunteers, and determination of hepatic enzyme phenotype
3. Pharmacodynamics & ANS Drugs: Effect of acetylcholine and atropine on ileus preparation (in silico experiment)
4. CNS drugs: Study of the effect of different doses of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine on rat psychomotor activity (in vivo experiment)
 
Recommended reading:

Textbooks:
• Goodman and Gilman’s: Goodman & Gilman’s: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 14th edition, McGraw Hill / Medical, 2022
• Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology 8th Edition, Wolters Kluwer Health, 2022
• Brody’s Human Pharmacology 7th Edition, Elsevier, 2024
• Rang & Dale’s Pharmacology, International Edition, 10th Edition, Elsevier, 2024
• Bertram G. Katzung, Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 15th Edition, McGraw Hill / Medical, 2020 

Relevant Scientific Journals:
• Pharmacological Reviews
• Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
• Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Trends in Pharmacological Sciences
• E. Asprodine : Notes on Practical Pharmacology Exercises, University Publications of Thessaly, Volos, 2009
• Brody’s Human Pharmacology Mechanism-based Therapeutics, 6 th Edition, Elsevier 2019
• Rang & Dale’s Pharmacology 9th Edition, Elsevier 2019
• Bertram G. Katzung, Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 15th Edition, 2021

Related scientific journals:
• Pharmacological Reviews
• Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
• Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Trends in Pharmacological Sciences

 


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