Pharmacology I

Code:

MI073229

Acronym:

FCOL1

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Health Sciences

Instance: 2013/2014 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	https://moodle.up.pt/course/view.php?id=105
Responsible unit:	Pharmacology Laboratory
Course/CS Responsible:	MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MICF	173	Official Curriculum	3	-	6,5	65	175,5

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

GENERAL PHARMACOLOGY
Understand the scientific methods that support Pharmacology and distinguish it from pseudocience. Understand the general mechanisms of drug action, their cycle in the organism, and the factors affecting individual and interindividual variability in drug response.

NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
Apply neuronal communication concepts in the definition of experimental and therapeutic pharmacological interventions. Know the main groups of drugs used in peripheral and central nervous system modulation; understand their mechanims of action and adverse reactions; understand the models and experimental techniques underlying the development and validation of such drugs.

LABORATORIAL COMPONENT
Plan, conduct and analyse different types of pharmacological experiments; Interpret specific pharmacological-literature

Learning outcomes and competences

EXPECTED OUTCOME 
Prepare individuals that: 
1) Know the general principles of Pharmacology; 
2) Are capable of expressing critical and scientific opinions on the validity and risk/benefit of using drugs belonging to the studied therapeutic groups; 
3) Are capable of applying the general principles to new pharmacological contexts.

Working method

B-learning

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Program

Theoretical Program

1. General Pharmacology
1.1. Basic & Clinical Evaluation of New Drugs
1.2. Pharmacodynamics
1.3. Pharmacokinetics

2. Neuropharmacology

2.1. Autonomic Nervous System Pharmacology
2.1.1. Cholinergic transmission
2.1.2. Adrenergic transmission

2.2. Central Nervous System Pharmacology
2.2.1. Anxiolytics and hypnotics
2.2.2. Antidepressants
2.2.3. Antipsychotics and mood stabilizers
2.2.4. Pharmacology of addiction
2.2.5. Antiparkinsonian and other drugs with utility in neurodegenerative diseases
2.2.6. Antiepileptics


Laboratory Program

1. General considerations in assessing drug efficacy in humans vs. non-human models. Simulation tests with randomization and blinding techniques, and the study of placebo effect.
2. Introduction to good practice in laboratory animal science. Noninvasive behavioral tests in Mus musculus.
3. Alternatives to animal testing. Less complex organisms (Drosophyla melanogaster, Danio rerio). In vitro assays. Tests on isolated organs.
4. Characterization of agonists. Concentration response curves, calculation of EC50 and other associated parameters.
5. Characterization of antagonists. Antagonism: physiological, pharmacological, competitive, noncompetitive, reversible and irreversible. Schild regression. Calculation of pA2 and PKB.
6. Mechanisms of neurotransmitter inactivation. Desensitization and spare receptors. Characterization of receptors. Order of potency of agonists and antagonists.
7. Practical applications with software for plotting and analysing pharmacological data.

Mandatory literature

Katzung Bertram G. ed.; Basic & clinical pharmacology. ISBN: 0-07-117968-2

Complementary Bibliography

Gilman Alfred Goodman ed.; Goodman and Gilman.s: the pharmacological basis of therapeutics. ISBN: 0-02-344710-9

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theorethical and Laboratorial teaching, highlighting active learning via conceptual debates, planning, execution, analysis and discussion of laboratory experiments. In person teaching, complemented with e-learning and independent study.

Software

GraphPad Prism 5

keywords

Health sciences > Pharmacological sciences > Pharmacy
Health sciences > Neuroscience > Neurophysiology
Health sciences > Pharmacological sciences > Clinical pharmacology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	75,00
Trabalho laboratorial	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	80,00
Frequência das aulas	65,00
Trabalho laboratorial	30,00
Total:	175,00

Calculation formula of final grade

FINAL MARK (0-20) = distributed assessment (0-5) + final exam (0-15)

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PEER ASSESSMENT

The distributed assessment score will be a function of the student performance as assessed by the professor, with 10% (0,5 val) modulation by the anonymous scores provided by the lab group members weighting the student's contribution fro the group work.

The final mark may (*) be majored up to 0,75 val via anonymous peer assessment, weighting the student's contribution for the success of the curricular unit, namely by sharing experimental data, study material, builduing and scoring syllabus in the e-learning plattform, sharing material built for lab works, help in FAQS and study support, etc.

(*) The number of voting students must be representative (at least 10).

Examinations or Special Assignments