Medical Pharmacology 3 - SHB4015

Assessment 1: Other

A formative assessment in pharmacokinetics will involve estimating the distribution and elimination parameters of drugs following two compartmental kinetics. Students will estimate Michaelis Menten kinetic parameters for a patient and employ them to calculate personalised dosing rate to get a steady-state phase.

Other

Assessment 3: Exam

Exam

Assessment 2: Presentation

Presentations (15% or marks): Students will work in small groups and prepare a presentation that will be of 10 min duration. The subject of each presentation will focus on current treatment options and drug development in CNS topics (such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers etc). After the presentation, there will be and additional 5 mins for questions.

Presentation

Assessment 1: Written Assignment

Practical write up (15% of marks): The assessed coursework will include short answers to specific questions related to experimental design, data presentation, interpretation and critical analysis of the data and its interpretation. A word limit of 2500 applies.

Written assignment

Molecular Pharmacology

SHP3002 - Molecular Pharmacology

The aim of this module is to extend the knowledge of use of drugs from years 1 and 2 to the management of disorders of the CNS and Cancer, pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions.
CNS topics will include depression, psychosis and anxiety, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.  Other topics will include pain and the use of opioid analgesics, CNS stimulants, psychotomimetics and the physiological basis of drug dependence and drug abuse. The mechanisms of general and local anaesthesia with reference to the CNS and the peripheral nervous system will be covered.
Pharmacology of drugs in cancer treatment will be covered. This includes (i) established cytotoxic drugs, their mechanisms of action, achievements and limitations (particularly drug resistance and toxicity) (ii) a brief overview of cancer biology in the context of highlighting how knowledge of the biological ‘hallmarks of cancer’ are driving drug discovery programs and (iii) an overview of the modern targeted anti-cancer drugs and the challenges of genome instability and tumour cell heterogeneity and how these drive the development of resistance in cancers. The final lectures will focus on three common cancers where all the elements covered in the previous lectures will be applied to each cancer type – these will cover issues such as incidence and mortality, the known causes of each cancer type and risk factors, tumour types and staging of disease and treatment of the disease (using cytotoxic and targeted drugs). The underlying principle being that the ‘War on Cancer’ is not just about treatment with drugs but it also includes prevention and early detection strategies.   
Further lectures on applied pharmacokinetics will complement the kinetic lectures covered in year 1 and 2. This is in addition to additional lectures on drug-drug interaction and pharmacogenomics.

School of Applied Sciences

<a href="https://library.hud.ac.uk/readinglists/SHB4015">https://library.hud.ac.uk/readinglists/SHB4015</a>

Biology

SHB4015 - Medical Pharmacology 3

Medical Pharmacology 3

be able to analyze the factors that contribute towards drug dependence and drug abuse.

be able to discuss and critically evaluate the effectiveness of drugs used in cancer therapy.

be able to discuss the pharmacological basis of drug action using examples of specific neurological/psychological disorders and cancer therapy. 

be able to contribute to the education, training and development of other members of their team, including peer review and assessment through coaching and feedback.

be able to apply their knowledge of the principles of drug action to investigate pharmacological phenomena by means of simulated procedures/case studies, workshop and/or presentations.

understand the PK of drugs following two-compartmental and Michaelis Menten kinetics.

be able to discuss the physiological aspects of pain sensation and the pharmacology of the opioid drugs.