00351 - Pharmacology

Learning outcomes

The course provides knowledge in the following areas:

- basic principles of pharmacology

- pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics

- therapeutic use of drugs

- basic principles to understand variability in drug response (genetic factors, concomitant disease, drug interactions, etc.)

- basic principles of clinical pharmacology, pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology

Course contents

Pharmacokinetics; routes of drug administration; absorption; distribution; drug metabolism; excretion

Pharmacodynamics; agonist and antagonists; dose-response curves

DRUG CLASSES

Drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system

Drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Anxiolytic agents

Antidepressant agents

Antipsychotics

Opiates and non-opiate analgesic agents; drug abuse and dependence

Diuretic agents

ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists

Beta-adrenoceptor blockers

Calcium channel blockers

Organic nitrates

Digoxin, other inotropic agents and antiarrhythmic agents

Drugs used for the treatment of dyslipidemias

Anticoagulant and thrombolytic agents; inhibitors of platelet aggregation

Drugs used in the treatment of anemia

Agents used in the treatment of asthma and COPD

Agents used in the treatment of peptic ulcer

Antiemetic agents

Steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Drugs used in thyroid dysfunctions

Drugs used in the treatment of diabetes

Oestrogens, progestins and androgens

Agents used in osteoporosis

Antimicrobial agents: classification and general criteria in antibacterial chemotherapy

Antifolic agents

Cell wall synthesis inhibitors

Protein synthesis inhibitors

Quinolones and other agents used in urinary tract infections

Antimycobacterial agents

Antimycotic agents

Drugs used in protozoal diseases

Antiviral agents

Readings/Bibliography

Hitchings, Lonsdale, Burrage, Baker. The top 100 drugs. Clinical pharmacology and practical prescribing. 2nd Edition, Elservier, 2019.

Teaching methods

Interactive lectures (using Mentimeter and/or Kahoot!)

Assessment methods

Oral examination to assess achievement of the learning outcomes (see the Italian version for details)

Teaching tools

Teaching material (access restricted to UNIBO student) can be downloaded from the institutional repository.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Rimondini Giorgini

See the website of Fabrizio De Ponti

See the website of Emanuel Raschi