Ateneo - UPO

The course of CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY for students of the 4th year PHARMACY aims to address the principles and characteristics of the basic methodologies used in a laboratory of clinical biochemistry. More in detail:
• Introduction to Clinical Biochemistry.
• Principles and characteristics of the principal methods used for analysis in a clinical biochemistry laboratory.
• Electrophoretic techniques
• Immunological techniques and radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassays tests.
With an approach to clinical cases analysis, the following topics will be discussed:
• Adjusting the metabolism of energy substrates.
• Glycogen metabolism and glucose homeostasis in the blood.
• Digestion and transport of lipids assumed in the diet.
• Intestinal absorption, synthesis, metabolism and fate of cholesterol.
• Metabolism of carbohydrate and lipids in physiological and pathological conditions.
• Action of hormones that regulate energy metabolism.
• Plasma proteins
• Serum cardiac enzymes in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
• Liver function test and high liver enzymes.
• Renal function.
• Hemoglobinopathies.
• Porphyria.
• Tumour Markers.
• Monothematic courses: tuberculosis, malaria, virus.

Elisabetta Albi “Biochimica clinica essenziale”, ZANICHELLI
ISBN: 978-88-08-72057-3

The course aims to deepen the knowledge of basic biochemistry topics framing them in a medical-health perspective. In addition, for the main clinical biochemistry analysis, the application and interpretation of the results will be deeply described. Also it will be encouraged the research of most recent data published in scientific journals of international importance to deepen all the studied arguments using the scientific web-search "PubMed".

None.
However, it will be required a good preparation in biochemistry

ex-cathedra traditional lectures

It is possible to view lecture slides and supplementary materials on the University's Networked Learning website: https://www.dir.uniupo.it/
Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or Special Educational Needs (BES) can request services and tools
specifically dedicated to them by contacting the Staff Development and Coordination Careers and Student Services and consulting the dedicated page of the University website:https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studenti-disabili-e-dsa Students with disabilities, DSA, BES, once they have made contact with the University Staff, they can contact the teacher in charge of the teaching in relation to the declination of the examination modalities, regarding the didactic aspects.

Access to the oral examination will be granted after passing a prescribed examination consisting of ten multiple-choice questions, in which all four answers may be right 2 or only one. You will pass this first examination only if you get 9 out of 10 answers right. During the oral exam will be assessed the student's ability to link different topics, including the overall logic of the metabolism with a point of view medical health. In addition, it will be assessed the ability to describe the principles, applications and interpretation of the main clinical biochemistry analysis results.

Introduction to Clinical Biochemistry
Definition, the laboratory data and expression of biochemical results.
Principles and characteristics of the principal methods used for analysis in a clinical biochemistry laboratory
Predictive value, pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical variability, classification of measurement errors, interpretation of a clinical biochemistry outcome.
Electrophoretic techniques
Electrophoresis in agarose matrices for the analysis of nucleic acids; SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing of proteins; immunoblotting by western blot
Immunological techniques and radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassays tests.
ELISA and RIA, enzyme kinetics, KM and Vmax.
Glycogen metabolism and glucose homeostasis in the body.
Glycolysis, Glycogen degradation and synthesis, and Gluconeogenesis in different compart of the body.
Action of hormones that regulate energy metabolism
Insulin, glucagon and other hormones involved in the regulation of blood glucose concentration.
Metabolism of carbohydrate in pathological conditions.
Hyperglycemia, diabete type I and type II, hypoglycemia and anorexia. Glycogen storage disease
Digestion and transport of lipids assumed in the diet.
Chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL and HDL
Intestinal absorption, synthesis, metabolism and fate of cholesterol.
HMCoA-reduttasi.
Metabolism of lipids in pathological conditions.
Dyslipidemies, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Plasma proteins, coagulation and fibrinolysis.
Albumin and Prealbumin. Proteins involved in the homeostasis of the iron -Transferrin Ferritin Ceruloplasmine-. The C-reactive protein.
Serum cardiac enzymes in Myocardial infarction and in Liver function test.
AST, ALT, GGT, ALP and CHE in hepatitis, poisoning, liver cirrhosis and biliary stasis.
CK, myoglobin, cardiac Troponins, hFABP and GPBB in Myocardial Infarction.
Renal function.
Urine Analysis, Urea cycle, purine and pyrimidine metabolism.
Haemoglobinopathies.
Thalassemia and haemoglobin variants
Porphyria.
Deficit ALA synthetase, ADP, AIP, CEP, PCT, HCP, PV and EPP.
Tumour Markers.
Tumour marker, Cancer Stem Cells, Negative false, Positive false, Sensitivity, Specificity and Predictive value, ROC curve. PSA, CA-153, MCA, TPA, Cytokeratin 19, NSE and thyroglobulin. Marker detectable in the urine. Primary secondary, and tertiary prevention.
Monothematic courses.
Tuberculosis, malaria, virus

The students,at the end of the course, will have a comprehensive view of the central metabolism and the contact points tar the different biosynthetic pathways. In addition, they will be able to evaluate the causes and effects of variation, in both blood and urinary concentrations, of different metabolites.