Introduction

Pharmacology provides an understanding of how various chemical agents interact with biological tissues. These interactions occur mainly via protein molecules called receptors. Receptors recognize and bind specific chemicals to cause a biological response, such as muscle contraction, or hormone release.
Understanding these interactions gives Pharmacologists an insight into how animal and human bodies work and can lead to the development of new medicines against such conditions as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, or bacterial or parasitic infections. In addition, such knowledge leads to developments in animal and veterinary medicines and to improvements in existing medicines, to give fewer unwanted side effects.

Many new drugs are derived from plants and animals used in traditional folk medicine or in the venoms or poisons such organisms produce. Pharmacognosy (a branch of Pharmacology) investigates the actions of natural chemicals with a view to isolating and understanding the mechanisms of action of the active ingredients and creating new medicines.

Who Should Do This Course?

This course is ideal for bioscience professionals (Academics, Food Technologists, Research Scientists, Pharmacists, Biotechnologists, etc.) and healthcare workers (Medical Practitioners, Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists). Participants should have at least diploma qualification or second year level achievement in biomedical science undergraduate discipline.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this course you will have an understanding of the general nature of pharmacology, basic qualitative and quantitative concepts in molecular pharmacology including receptors, agonists, antagonists, dose-response curves, efficacy and affinity, and de-sensitization. Students should be able to describe how drug receptors are classified; understand how drug effects are mediated at a molecular level by actions on receptors, ion channels and second messenger systems.

You should also have an appreciation of the importance of pharmacokinetics in drug action, together with knowledge of drug effects and clinical aspects, on the autonomic and sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and on the cardiovascular system such as drugs affecting the heart, including anti-dysrhythmic agents and drugs used in the treatment of renal hypertension (vasodilators and diuretics). Lectures will also examine the following topics: The pathophysiological basis of allergy and inflammation and the mechanisms of action of drugs used in their treatment; the action of antibiotics; drug actions on respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts (including drugs and obesity); drugs acting on blood and the endocrine system (sex hormones); Local and general anaesthetics; alcohol and drug abuse.

ADMISSION

Participants in this programme will need to have completed the equivalent of first year undergraduate Chemistry and Human Anatomy and Physiology. The preferred English proficiency is IELTS6.0.

DURATION

There are a total of 28 lectures, delivered over 8 weeks

LECTURE CONTENT

Lecture 1
Principles of Pharmacology: Introduction
Stern, Robert S. "Drug Promotion for an Unlabeled Indication - The Case of Topical Tretinoin." In The New England Journal of Medicine 31(20): 1348-9, 1994.
"The Withdrawal of Duract®: Are There any Lessons to be Learned?" In Drug Therapy 8(7), 1998.
Wood, Alastair, J. J., Stein, C. Michael, and Raymond Woosley. "Making Medicines Safer - The Need for an Independent Drug Safety Board." In The New England Journal of Medicine 339(25): 1581-84, 1998.

Lecture 2
Receptors/Dose-Response
Drug-Receptor Interactions

Lecture 3
Pharmacokinetics 1
Principles of Pharmacokinetics

Lecture 4
Pharmacokinetics 2
Principles of Pharmacokinetics

Lecture 5
Cholinergic Pharmacology (Case - Anticholinesterase)
Cholinergic Transmission

Lecture 7
Local Anaesthetics

Lecture 9
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacogenetics

Lecture 10
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacogenetics
(Case - Anticoagulation)
(Case - Sulfasalazine)

Lecture 11
Autonomic Pharmacology 1

Lecture 12
Autonomic Pharmacology 2
(Case - Pheochromocytoma)
(Case - Asthma)

Lecture 13
Vasoactive Medications 1
Eichhorn, Eric J. "Rationale for the Use of ß-Adrenergic Blockers in Patients with Systolic Heart Failure." In Cardiology Rounds 2(1): 1-8, 1998.

Lecture 14
Vasoactive Medications 2
(Case - Cocaine)
(Case - Thyroid Disease)

Lecture 15
Inhaled Nitric Oxide
Steudel, Wolfgang M. D., Hurford, William, M. D., and Warren M. Zapol M. D. "Inhaled Nitric Oxide: Basic Biology and Clinical Applications [Medical Intelligence Article]." Anesthesiology, The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. 91: 1090, 1999.

Lecture 16
Nonsteroidal Anitiinflammatory Drugs
Anti-Cytokine Therapy

Wallace, John L. "Selective COX-2 Inhibitors: Is the Water Becoming Muddy?" Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (Current Awareness section) 20(1): 4-6, 1999.
Weinblatt, Michael E. W., M. D. Joelm, M. D. Kremer, D. Arthur, M. D. Bankhurst, Ken J. Bulpitt, Roym. Fleischmann, Robert I. Fox, M. D., Christopher G. Jackson, M. D., Mary Lange, M. S., and Daniel J. Burge, M. D. "A Trial of Etanercept, a Recombinant Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor: Fc Fusion Protein, in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Receiving Methotrexate." In The New England Journal of Medicine 340(4): 253-9, 1999.

Lecture 17
Histamine and Antihistamines
(Case - Glaucoma)
(Case - Gout)

Lecture 18
Immunosuppression for Solid Organ Transplantation
(Case - Renal Failure)

Lecture 19
Drug Development

Lecture 20
Neuropharmacology 1
Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders

Lecture 21
Lipid Lowering Drugs
(Case - Placebo)
(Case - Lithium)

Lecture 22
Neuropharmacology 2
Antidepressants and Sedatives

Lecture 23
Neuropharmacology 3
Anticonvulsants

Lecture 24
Pharmacologic Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy

Lecture 25
Antimicrobials 2
(Case - Drug Allergy)
(Case - Migraines)

Lecture 26
Principles of Clinical Cancer Chemotherapy and Drug Resistance

Lecture 27
Chemotherapy 2
(Case - Folate)
(Case - Oral Hypoglycemics)

Lecture 28Opioid Pharmacology
Raynor, Karen, Haeyoung Kond, Anton Mestek, Leighan S. Bye, Mingting Tian, Jian Liu, Lei Yu, and Terry Reisine. "Characterization of the Cloned Human Mu Opioid Receptor." The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 272(1): 423-428.

Kieffer, Brigitte L. "Opioids: First Lessons from Knockout Mice." Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 20 (1999): 19-26.

READING LIST

Katzung, B. ed. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
or
Hardman, J. G. ed. The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. New York: McGraw-Hill.
"G&G" (named for the original editors, Goodman and Gilman) is an excellent reference many of you will want on your shelves. New editions have been coming out at roughly five year intervals.

Tuition: AUD3,000