Module Identifier BS33820  
Module Title MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Dr David J Hopper  
Semester Semester 2  
Other staff Dr Colin J Jackson, Dr Mustak A Kaderbhai, Dr Peter M Brophy  
Pre-Requisite BS22520 , BS21920  
Course delivery Lecture    
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment 3 hour theory paper (70%) Group project & presentation (15%) Essay (15%)100%
Supplementary Assessment 3 hour theory paper (70%) resubmission of failed or missing work (30%)100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of the module, students
- should have an appreciation of the basic principles of pharmacology and toxicology
- be familiar with the scientific approaches used in drug discovery and development
- recognise a selection of British Pharmacopoeia Commission Approved names of drugs and be able to group together those drugs, which share common pharmaceutical properties
- know the pharmacological properties of each drug group that are relevant to its therapeutic uses and adverse effects, with special emphasis on those which can be deduced from a knowledge of the site and mechanism of action
- know the general principles of the subject and thus be able to assess the described properties and therapeutic claims made for any new drug or group of drugs.


Aims

By building on their previous knowledge of physiology and enzymology, the module aims to give the students a sound introduction to the subjects of pharmacology and toxicology enabling them to appreciate better the practical importance of all of these topics in the health industry. The group project will give opportunity to enhance research and presentational skills

Content

There will be three assessed parts to the course.   
The main part will be the lecture course. This will deal first of all with the action of therapeutic drugs on various physiological systems in the human body and will maintain a close link between the physiology and the effects of the compound.
It will include drugs that interact with cholinergic and noradrenergic control mechanisms, which impinge on so many physiological systems and this topic is chosen as a starting point because it is in this area that mechanism of drug action is probably best understood. Also a high proportion of drugs mentioned have therapeutic potential and the system can be used as a model to predict or infer the mechanism of action of drugs in other less well understood areas.
Particular attention will also be given to cardiovascular pharmacology.
Besides drug action on the body, the module will deal with the way in which the body deals with drugs. The uptake, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs by the body will be described and the implications that the rates of these processes have on dosages will be highlighted. These aspects will be applied not only to drugs but also to the wider range of toxic compounds that might enter the body. Drug dependence will also be dealt with.
The topics of bacterial toxins and antifungal and antibacterial drugs will be covered and a lecture will be devoted to the topic of drugs in sport.
A second assessment will be on a group research topic. The class will be split into groups for research on various topics of pharmacology and toxicology and these will be presented orally in lecture slots at the end of the course. The marks for these will be adjusted for individual effort on the basis of peer assessment. The group research topic will form the basis of an individual essay for each student and this will make up the third area of assessment for the module.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Foster, R.W (1986) Basic pharmacology 2nd. Butterworth.
Gard, P., (2000) Human pharmacology Taylor & Francis

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6