The first part of the course (General Pharmacology) aims:
a) to provide information on general principles concerning the molecular and cellular mechanisms which underly the activity of drugs and which determine and influence the effects in the clinical practice.
b) To explain the main characteristics of various classes of drug targets, such as receptors, enzymes, ion channels etc. as well as the different kinds of interaction between drugs and drug targets.
c)To explain the general principles of pharmacokinetics, regulating drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, in order to understand (even by means of exercises) the strong influence of pharmacokinetic factors on the overall drug effects.
d) To explain the general mechanisms of adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions and tolerance, and to explain the mechanisms responsible for individual variability in the drug effects.
In the second part of the course (Pharmacotherapy 1), the first topics of pharmacotherapy will be introduced. In particular, the drugs currently used in the clinical practice for the therapy of some specific diseases will be described. The main practical aspects, concerning the clinical use of these drugs, and their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties will be examined. Finally, particular attention will be focused on the knowledge of the drug-related problems (acute and chronic toxicity, side effects, interactions, poor adherence, etc), in order to identify the role of pharmacist in the reduction and/or prevention of these problems.