PRINCIPLES OF NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
cod. 15902

Academic year 2008/09
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Farmacologia (BIO/14)
Field
Scienze medico-chirurgiche
Type of training activity
Characterising
18 hours
of face-to-face activities
1 credits
hub: -
course unit
in - - -

Integrated course unit module: NEUROSCIENCE

Learning objectives

<br />To know the basic principles of general pharmacology and the processes that regulate the concentrations of drugs in the different compartments of body after the dosing and the events consequent on interaction of the drug with its primary site of action. To know the pharmacology  of drugs modifing the neuromuscular function and of drugs used for the therapy of inflammatory diseases of joints. <br />To make the student able to understand the therapeutic and toxicological aspects related to the use of the above reported drugs.

Prerequisites

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Course unit content

<br /><br />General Pharmacology. Introduction to  pharmacology; definition and scope of pharmacology; definition of drug. Principles of pharmacodynamics: molecular targets and mechanism of drug action. Drugs acting at receptor level: agonists and antagonists; partial agonists; relationship between agonist concentration and response. Pharmacokinetics: how drugs reach their target: routes of administration; physicochemical factors in drugs transport across membranes; absorption, transfer of drugs across the blood brain barrier and across the placenta. Binding of drugs to plasma proteins, distribution of drugs into body tissues. Drugs biotransformation. Factors affecting drugs biotransformation: genetic polymorphisms induction and inhibition of biotransformation enzymes. Excretion of drugs: renal, biliary, fecal and pulmonary excretion; excretion by other routes. Pharmacokinetics parameters: bioavailability; volume of distribution; half-life, clearance. Factors that affect therapeutic outcome: drug-drug interactions, physiological and pathological factors. Tolerance and resistance. Drugs toxicity: adverse drug reactions. <br />Clinical pharmacology. Drugs affecting the neuromuscular function: agents acting on neuromuscular junction: competitive  and depolarizing agents, botulinum toxin; centrally acting muscle relaxants: agents affecting GABA-ergic system. Drugs used for the therapy of myasthenia gravis: anticholinesterase agents, steroids and immunosopressive agents. Antiparkinsonian agents. Drugs used in the treatment of pain: opioid and non-opioid analgesics, local anaesthetics. Drugs acting as antiinflammatory agents employed in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs: non selective and selective COX inhibitors. Steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (glucocorticoids); antirheumatoid drugs (DMARDs: disease modifying antirheumatoid drugs); drugs used in gout (colchicine, allopurinol, uricosuric agents). Generalities of drugs used for treatment of spinal lesions. New drugs used for treatment of osteoarthritis: condroprotective agents.

Full programme

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Bibliography

<br />
M.M. Dale, D.G. Haylett: Pharmacology Condensed. Ed. Churchill Livingstone.<br />
An imprint of Elsevier Limited 1ft edition 2004.<br />
 <br />
H.P. Rang, M.M. Dale, J.M. Ritter , P.K. Moore: Pharamcology. 5ft edition, 2003.<br />
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Teaching methods

<br />Frontal lessons. Oral examination.

Assessment methods and criteria

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Other information

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