Pharmacology

The main object of the course is to provide the theoretical and practical basis in order to understand drug action, explaining the concepts of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic. Modern molecular pharmacology will be presented, explaining the molecular targets for drugs and the factors that can affect the therapeutic response. It will be clarified that the interaction drug/organism may have different meanings: (i) be aimed at amending a pathological condition (therapy); (ii) damage the organism (toxicant); (iii) be used to study the organism (medication as a study tool).

At the end of the course the student will have acquired and understood the basic knowledge in order to understand the interactions between the drugs and the organism. He will have sufficient knowledge of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic to read in a correct and critical way the drug package insert. He will know the molecular mechanisms that can be modulated by drugs. The course is preparatory for the pharmacology courses of the third year, during which the student will apply the acquired knowledge to analyze the different drug classes in relation to pathological conditions.