Medical Pharmacology

The educational objectives of the course are to define and classify the targets of drug action (e.g. receptors, enzymes, ion channels, transporters), describe the different aspects of quantitative pharmacodynamics underlying their action (e.g. full agonists, partial agonists, inverse antagonists), illustrate the different biotechnological drugs (e.g. recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, decoys, RNA-based), outline the different pharmacokinetic aspects underlying the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs, indicate the rational bases of the use of different drugs in the therapy of the main organ and system pathologies (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, neuropsychiatric diseases)

In line with the Dublin Descriptors, the expected learning outcomes are:

Dublin Descriptor 1: knowledge and understanding
The student must know the fundamental principles of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics and understand the mechanisms of action of the main classes of drugs,
The student must understand the scientific rationale behind the development of new molecules.

Dublin Descriptor 2: ability to apply knowledge and understanding
The student will have to recognize the therapeutic effect of the mechanisms of action of drugs based on the pathogenetic and physiopathological mechanisms of diseases. The student will also have to use the tools of quantitative pharmacodynamics to predict the action of a drug, interpret the pharmacokinetic parameters and their impact on therapy.


Dublin Descriptor 3: critical and judgment skills:
The student will have to develop critical skills in the evaluation of pharmacological therapies through the integration of what has been learned in class with the use of pharmacology manuals and also through the reading of scientific data made available by international literature. The student will also have to understand the ethical implications in the use of drugs.