1999 Pharmacy Handbook - Pharmacology II

Pharmacology II

Introduction
General objectives
Syllabus
Practical
Textbooks
Assessment

Introduction

Dr Frederick Mitchelson
71 lectures and 63 hours of practical work.
The aim of the subject is to provide students with a knowledge of systematic pharmacology based on drug groups and to extend physiological and pathophysiological concepts in relation to the uses of drugs, their mechanisms of action and their side effects.

General objectives

In this teaching program students are expected to develop:

understanding of principles of receptor differentiation, drug-receptor interactions and receptor-transduction mechanisms; pharmacological mechanisms by which drugs of various classes may alter biochemical, physiological or pathophysiological parameters to produce therapeutic or unwanted effects; the particularities of the pharmacological, toxicological and pharmacokinetic properties of individual compounds within drug classes as they impinge on their therapeutic use;
abilities in the areas of observation and measurement of pharmacological processes; assessment and integration of pharmacological information as it relates to wanted and unwanted effects produced by drugs;
an appreciation of integrated physiological functions, pathophysiological sequelae and pharmacological perturbations as they affect bodily functions; the differing pharmacological approaches available for the treatment of individual diseases; social aspects of pharmacology.

Syllabus

Endocrinology. Hypothalamic and feedback controls on the release of anterior and posterior pituitary hormones. The physiology of growth hormone; prolactin; thyroxine and triiodothyronine; corticosteroids; oestrogens, progestagens and androgens; vasopressin and oxytocin; insulin and glucagon; parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and vitamin D. Endocrine disorders, their pathophysiology and treatment. The use of natural and synthetic hormones and drugs which alter endocrine function; antithyroid, antidiabetic and antifertility agents.
Cardiovascular. Arrhythmias, peripheral vascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, shock and congestive heart failure.
Gastroenterology. Antiulcer drugs, laxatives, antidiarrhoeal agents.
Respiratory. Drugs used to treat or prevent asthma, bronchitis; bronchodilators, expectorants, mucolytics.
Anti-inflammatory. Drugs used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, gout; non-narcotic analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents, uricosuric agents.
Urinogenital tract. Uterine relaxants and stimulants, drugs used to treat disorders of micturition.
Cancer chemotherapy. Drugs acting on cell division. The chemotherapy of cancer.
Central nervous system physiology and pharmacology. The reticular formation, wakefulness and limbic system. The EEG; sleep and epilepsy; antiepileptic drugs, hypnotics, sedatives and anaesthetics. Disorders of locomotion. Aetiology and therapy of Huntington's chorea. Parkinson's disease and spasticity. The role of limbic system, medulla and hypothalamus in the regulation of temperature, food and water intake, coughing, vomiting, respiration, emotion and behaviour. Antipyretics, anorectics, antitussives, emetics and antiemetics, respiratory stimulants, analeptics. Pharmacological basis for the control of anxiety and neuroses, psychoses, dementias and affective disorders. Psychomotor stimulants. Narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics. Rationale for their use in headache and pain.

Practical

Practical classes are designed to provide experience through in vivo and in vitro experiments, seminars and discussion groups to illustrate and extend principles discussed in the lecture course.

Textbooks

Recommended texts

Students should retain textbooks utilised in 'Pharmacology I'.

Reference books

Greenspan F S and Strewler G Basic and clinical endocrinology 5th edn, Appleton and Lange, 1997
Kenakin T Molecular pharmacology - a short course Blackwell, 1997
Melmon K L and others Melmon and Morelli's 'Clinical pharmacology: Basic principles in therapeutics' 3rd edn, McGraw-Hill, 1992
Page C P and others Integrated pharmacology Mosby, 1997
Pratt W B and Taylor P Principles of drug action: The basis of pharmacology 3rd edn, Churchill Livingstone, 1990
Priestman T J Cancer chemotherapy: An introduction 3rd edn, Springer-Verlag, 1989
Speight T M and Holford N H G Avery's 'Drug treatment: A guide to the properties, choice, therapeutic use and economic value of drugs in disease management¡ 4th edn, Adis, 1997
Victorian College of Pharmacy Pharmacology II laboratory manual VCP, 1999

Assessment

Subject assessment will reflect the learning objectives outlined above. Methods of assessment will include:

Mid-year examination (June) (1 hour): 15%
Practical work: 15%
End-of-year examinations (2x2 hours): 70%