Course overview
The course will provide students with an understanding of how drugs are used as therapeutics. Students will gain an understanding of drug-receptor interactions. Particular emphasis will be given to the key factors that influence and govern the effects of drugs within the body, ranging from molecular determinants to physiological factors that control disposition of drugs within the body. Selected systems pharmacology examples will be given to illustrate contemporary approaches to treatment of disease. The practical component of this course will demonstrate key issues from the theoretical part of the course as well as providing laboratory and experimental proficiency for students, ensuring they gain an appreciation for studying drug actions at different levels of biological organisation, ranging from simple in vitro systems (e.g. organ baths) to whole animals.
Course learning outcomes
- Recognise the fundamental principles of drug actions at their target sites (eg. receptors, enzymes etc)
- Describe the different types of pharmacodynamic interactions of drugs with receptors and apply quantitative methods to analyse such interactions
- Demonstrate knowledge of the actions of specific drug classes at selected organ systems and physiological pathways at a molecular and cellular level
- Explain the functioning of the autonomic nervous system at a pharmacological, anatomical and physiological level, with an integrated approach to its role in physiological homeostasis
- Compare the functional roles of selected central nervous system transmitters and be able to list clinically important drugs acting at these pharmacological systems
- Choose a relevant experimental system to test experimental hypotheses (e.g. in vitro or in vivo; animal species etc)
- Design experiments which are properly controlled and which use appropriate statistical methods of data analysis
- Work co-operatively in a small group setting to conduct experiments, generate, analyse and interpret experimental data
- Consider ethical issues when designing experiments using humans or animals
- Consider the importance of method validation, and the recognition of experimental errors