Biochemical Pharmacology
Theory: 3 hours/week | Tutorials: 2 hours/week | ECTS Units: 5
Learning Outcomes
After the successful completion of the course:
- the students will have general knowledge of the basic principles of pharmacology and will have understood the biochemical processes involved in drug action. In particular, the students will have gained knowledge about the movement of drugs in the body, their interactions with their cellular targets and the mechanisms through which they exert their action. In addition, they will have probed into the specific actions of drugs as therapeutic agents in various systems, such as the nervous, the cardiovascular, the respiratory, the urinary and the digestive systems. Finally, they will have acquired specialized knowledge about the mechanisms by which the chemotherapeutic action of drugs against microorganisms and cancer cells is exerted.
- the students will have developed the necessary knowledge acquisition skills to continue their studies in topics related to Biochemical Pharmacology, such as identification of agonists and antagonists of receptors, study of the specific binding of drugs to receptors, calculating the minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotics and estimating drug efficacy and potency.
- the students will be familiar with the use of modern international bibliography and the search for articles published in high impact factor journals, they will have understood advanced-level topics arising from contemporary cutting-edge developments in their field of knowledge, and they will have acquired the ability to develop and publicly present a topic in the field of biochemical pharmacology.
Analytical Description of the Course
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRUG ACTION:
- INTRODUCTION: Sources of drug origin. History of pharmacology. Drug development process.
- PHARMACOKINETICS: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion of drugs. Drug Therapeutic index.
- DRUG MOLECULAR TARGETS: Receptors, enzymes, voltage-gated ion channels, transporters, and nucleic acids.
- QUANTITATIVE EXPRESSION OF DRUG ACTION-PHARMACODYNAMICS: Specific binding. Saturation curve. Reversible binding. Allosteric binding. Dose-response relationship. Competitive and non-competitive antagonists. Partial Agonists. Reverse Agonists.
PHARMACEUTICAL TREATMENT OF DISEASES:
- Drugs and the nervous system.
- Drugs and cardiovascular system.
- Drugs and the urinary system.
- Drugs and the respiratory system.
- Drugs and the digestive system.
- Drugs against bacterial infections.
- Chemotherapy – anti-cancer drugs.
Tutorials
Each course chapter will be accompanied with tutorial classes during which students (in groups) are presenting (both in written and orally) recent articles (reviews) regarding molecular pharmacology topics.
Student Performance Evaluation
Students are graded based on their performance in the oral presentation of a research topic (30%) and based on their performance in written examinations at the end of the semester (70%).
During the semester, students will present publicly, in groups of 2 individuals, a research article or review related to the subject of the course, which has been published in an international scientific journal. Students are graded based on their presentation skills, as well as their in-depth understanding of the topic it addresses based on their ability to answer the questions posed by the teachers following the presentation.
At the end of the semester the written exams include multiple choice questions, true/false questions, matching questions, questions with short answers, as well as essay questions requiring written responses of one-two paragraphs. The total of correct answers corresponds to 100 points, which are reduced to a grade of 10.
Suggested Bibliography
- Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Katzung B. Broken Hill Publishers LTD, 1st edition 2009.
- Pharmacology, Harvey A R, Whalen K, Finkel R. Panavelli TA, Scientific Publications Parisianou, 6th edition, 2015.
- Color atlas of pharmacology, Lullmann H, Mohr K, Hein L, Bieger D, Thieme, 3rd edition, 2005.
Teaching Material / E-class
Lecturers
Kalliopi Liadaki (Course Coordinator)
