GENERAL PHARMACOLOGY: kinetic of drugs in the body. Dynamic of interactions between drugs and proteins.
ASSAYS IN PHARMACOLOGY: evaluation of drug affinity and, methods for Ca++ assay. Gas chromatographic, mass spectrometry, high pressure chromatographic technique. Receptor binding. Immunoistochemical techniques for protein determination.
SPECIAL PHARMACOLOGY: transmitter systems and drugs: cholinergic, catecolaminergic, aminoacidergic, peptidergic, purinergic,nitrergic,istaminergic,serotoni...
DE. Golan, AH. Tashjian, EJ. Armstrong, JM.Galanter, AW. Armstrong, RA. Arnaout e HS. Rose
Principles of Pharmacology.
Hacker M., Messer W. and Bachmann
Pharmacology: principle and practice. ELSEVIER
A.G. Goodman and L.S. Gilman
The Pharmacological basis of Therapeutics McGraw-Hill Ed.
Learning Objectives
Knolewdge acquired:
Drug interactions with target molecules. Drug kinetic in the body. Action mechanism of the main drug classes: drugs active on central nervous system, heart, kidney, gastroenteric system, immune system; basis for evaluation of drug side effects and drug interactions. Basic information on drug development, clinic evaluation and approval.
Competence acquired:
Methodological competences of assay in pharmacology. In particular evaluation of drug affinity and efficacy by dose-effect curve design. Quantification of chemicals in biological samples by standard curves. Mathematical analysis of receptor binding.
Dilutions. Competences of electrophysiological techniques, HPLC, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry analysis, immunohistochemistry.
Skills acquired (at the end of the course):
Fundamental elements for studying the mechanism of action of drugs and laboratory practice in pharmacology.
Prerequisites
Courses recommmended
Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology
Teaching Methods
Total hours of the course (including the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, private study, examinations, etc...): 225
Hours reserved to private study and other indivual formative activities: 145
Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 72
Contact hours for: Laboratory (hours):
Contact hours for: Laboratory-field/practice (hours):
Seminars (hours): 8
Further information
Frequency of lectures, practice and lab:
3-4 per week
Teaching tools
Students will be provided of lectures on CD during the teaching course
Text books are available at the library of the Pharmacology Department- Viale Pieraccini 6 Florence
Type of Assessment
Oral examination
Course program
Introduction to pharmacology and clinical sperimentation in man.
Pharmacodynamic:
How drug acts by specific and unspecific actions. Receptors to drugs, drug-receptor interactions. Methodologies to study receptors. Receptor agonists and antagonists. Dose-effect curves.
Pharmacological effects mediated by ionic channels, examples: local anaesthetics, poisons activators of Na+ channels, antiepileptics and antiaritmics, type L Ca++ channel blockers, anti diabete drugs, potassium channel openers,
Drug interactions with enzymes: antinflammatory non steroid drugs (FANS), ACE inhibitors.
Drug interactions with carrier molecules: Na+/K+ (pump inhibitors (cardioactive glycosides), simpaticomimetic amines (tiramine, amphetamine, ephedrine), Protonic pump inhibitors, antidepressants and psycostimulant drugs.
Drug desensitization and tachiphylaxis, metabolic and cellular tolerance, physical dependence
Pharmacokinetic:
Drug absorption and routes of drug administration
Drug distribution and factors regulating it.
Biological barriers: ematoencephalic, ematoliquoral and placentar barriers.
Drug metabolism: drug metabolizing enzymes.
Drug-drug interactions
Human pharmacogenetic: examples.
Drug that inhibit or stimulate metabolism: cloramphenicol, disulfiram, allopurinol.
Drug inducers with emphasis to dioxins.
Drug excretion
Assays in pharmacology:
Ca++ homeostasis and modulation. Intracellular Ca++ assay with emphasis on fluorescence imaging techniques.
Cromatographic techniques. Drug, transmitter and hormone assays by high resolution liquid chromatographic techniques. Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques for drug analysis. Receptor binding techniques. Himmunoistochemical detection of receptors and enzymes.
System Pharmacology:
Nervous system organization
Catecolaminergic transmission and drugs
Cholinergic transmission and drugs
Serotoninergic transmission and drugs
Istaminergic transmission and drugs
Aminoacidergic transmission and drugs
Peptidergic transmission and drugs
Purinergic transmission and drugs
Pharmacology of nitric oxide (NO)
Pesticides
Drugs active on cardiovascular system:
Cardiac glycosides, antiarrhythmic drugs, anti-angina drugs, Ca++ channel blockers, antihypertensive agents
Diuretics