BS33820 - MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY

Module Identifier

BS33820

Module Title

MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY

Academic Year

2006/2007

Co-ordinator

Dr David J Hopper

Semester

Semester 2

Other staff

Mr Arwyn Edwards, Dr Mustak A Kaderbhai, Dr Paul Kenton

Pre-Requisite

BS21920 , BS23720

Course delivery

Lecture

30 x 1h lectures

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	3 Hours 3 hour theory paper (70%) Group project & presentation (15%) Essay (15%)	100%
Supplementary Assessment	3 Hours 3 hour theory paper (70%) resubmission of failed or missing coursework (30%)	100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of the module, students should be able to:

explain the basic principles of pharmacology and toxicology.
describe the pharmacological actions of named drugs and give physiological explanations for these actions.
explain how drugs or toxic compounds may be dealt with by the body.
give examples of toxic compounds from micro-organisms and their modes of action.
describe the action of antimicrobial compounds.
demonstrate a more detailed knowledge of one area of pharmacology and toxicology from the research for the group project.

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