Ateneo - UPO

The course is designed to provide students with the general principles of pharmacology, including: - the discovery, development, and approval process of new drugs, as well as their nomenclature; - the evaluation of a drug’s benefit–risk profile; - pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion); - the general principles of drug action (pharmacodynamics); - the mechanisms and effects underlying variability in drug response; - neurotransmitter systems as targets for drug action.

Goodman and Gilman's Pharmaceutical Basis of the Therapeutics - latest edition Rossi, Cuomo, Riccardi: Farmacologia. Principi di base e applicazioni terapeutiche – latest edition Rang & Dale: Pharmacology – latest edition

The General Pharmacology course aims to provide the foundational knowledge required to understand the content of the Special Pharmacology course. Through a qualitative and quantitative approach, students will learn how drugs are discovered, developed, approved, and used for the prevention and/or treatment of human diseases. Particular emphasis will be placed on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, focusing on the main mechanisms and effects underlying interindividual variability in drug response and drug–drug interactions. To apply the acquired knowledge, classroom exercises will be conducted to understand how the main pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters are experimentally calculated.

Prerequisite exams: anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology.

Formal lectures, supported by PowerPoint presentations, will be integrated with practical exercises on the calculation of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters, designed to strengthen students’ understanding of theoretical principles.

The teaching material will be provided to students through DIR. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services- students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Written exam: the assessment consists of a pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic exercise, two open-ended questions covering topics from the course content, and one multiple-choice question. To pass the exam, students must demonstrate that they have understood and assimilated at least the fundamental concepts of general pharmacology, both from a theoretical (open-ended questions) and an applied (pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic exercise) perspective. A broader knowledge and deeper understanding of the course material will result in a grade higher than the minimum passing mark. To achieve a high grade, students are expected to apply their knowledge and understanding to critically evaluate the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters derived in the exercise and to provide an in-depth discussion of the topics addressed in the open-ended questions.

During the course, the general principles of pharmacology will be presented and explored in depth, including: - the discovery, development, and regulatory approval process of new drugs; - clinical trials and the collection of evidence on the benefit–risk profile of drugs; - general principles of drug action (pharmacodynamics); - pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination); - drug–drug, drug-food, drug-xenobiotic interactions; - neurotransmitter systems as drug targets; - pharmacogenetic biomarkers for precision medicine; - general principles of pharmacovigilance; - the pharmacology of substances of abuse.

Knowledge: by the end of the course, students will have acquired an understanding of the fundamental principles governing drug action. Skills: by the end of the course, students will have developed the intellectual tools necessary to understand the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of any new drug they may encounter.