Course: Fundamentals of Pharmacology , PHPY N5021
Course Goal
The overall goal of the course is to understand the basic principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and to apply these principles to understanding pharmacological activity and dosing in normal individuals and in special populations. Students will also try to resolve controversies in drug treatment by the application of these principles.
Objectives:
1. Apply knowledge of human physiology, biochemistry and anatomy to explain dose-response relationships and the time course of drug concentrations.
2. Explain the mechanism of action, adverse drug reactions, and organ effects of some major drug categories used to treat illnesses within the framework of the principles presented in the course.
3. Apply the principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to the development of solutions to dosing issues.
4. Identify the basic principles behind rational drug design and the process by which drugs are approved for clinical use.
5. Explain the concept of risk versus benefit in pharmacotherapeutics and how this influences drug prescription and drug development.
6. Identify perspectives on the pharmacotherapeutic effects on health risks related to age, gender, culture, and lifestyle.
Method of Instruction
This course consists of lectures, readings, links to informational sites on the internet and lecture handouts. PowerPoint lecture handouts are available from the Angel homepage and will assist the student in extracting the most pertinent information from the lectures and readings.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class. Although attendance is not taken, we will give surprise quizzes (see Evaluation).
Evaluation
The mid-term and final exams will each contribute 45% to the final grade. The final exam is not cumulative and will cover material in Weeks 8-14. The remaining 10% of the final grade will come from surprise quizzes. The quiz grade is the average of your top 3 quiz scores. There will be at least 5 quizzes; these will be given at the beginning of a class. Your lowest quiz scores will not count, so if you miss 1 or 2 quizzes there is no penalty. However, if you only take 2 (or 1 or 0) quizzes, the missed quiz(zes) will be counted as zero towards the average.
Professional Behavior
All students are expected to observe and support high standards of honesty, integrity and professional conduct in all aspects of education and research. Professional behaviors include arriving on-time for class, respecting the opinions of classmates and professors, appropriately referencing work produced by another person, following through on commitments and using positive verbal and non-verbal communication. While it is occasionally appropriate to challenge a grade assignment, students are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable manner and recognize that the professor has the authority to lower a grade as well as to raise a grade following further evaluation. Please refer to the GSBS student handbook on academic integrity.
Recommended Textbooks:
All text are ‘recommended’ only: no single text is required.
Reading assignments are supplemental and help clarify points made in the lecture. All 3 texts will be on reserve in the library.
1. “Levine’s” Pharmacology. This text is the most comprehensive of the three.
Walsh CT, Schwartz-Bloom RD. Levine’s Pharmacology Drug Actions and Reactions. 7th edition. Boca Raton, Fl:Taylor & Francis; 2005.
The book is available both in printed format as well as in several e-book formats. The printed format is quite expensive. You may want to get a used copy. The 5th and 6th Editions are very similar to Edition 7 and may be another cost-saving way to get the material. E-books are often (although not always) cheaper. Be sure you are getting a version that is compatible with your reading device as ebooks are generally device-specific.
2. “Pandit”
Pandit, NK. Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Sciences. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. First Edition, 2007.
This book covers several topics not treated in Levine’s (Week 6, Week 10). A second edition that is both expanded and cheaper was due out in July 2011. It is now scheduled for late Oct 2011. If it comes out, the chapter assignments will be updated.
3. “Hernandez”
Hernandez, MA and Rathinavelu A. Basic Pharmacology. Understanding Drug Actions and Reactions. CRC Press. Taylor & Francis. 2006
Like Pandit, this text covers a topic not treated in the other two (Week 5). However, it is the least comprehensive and has no information for 4 of the lectures.
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