Mechanisms of drug actions

Lectures: 2 sessions / week; 1.5 hours / session

Recitations: 1 session / week; 1 hour / session

Permission of the instructor.

This course addresses the scientific basis for the development of new drugs. The first half of the semester begins with an overview of the drug discovery process, followed by fundamental principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, metabolism, and the mechanisms by which drugs cause therapeutic and toxic responses. The second half of the semester applies those principles to case studies and literature discussions of current problems with specific drugs, drug classes, and therapeutic targets.

Golan, David E., Armen H. Tashjian, and Ehrin J. Armstrong, eds. Principles of Pharmacology: The Pathophysiologic Basis of Drug Therapy. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. ISBN: 9781608312702. [Preview with Google Books]

Klaassen, Curtis. Casarett & Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons. 8th ed. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2013. ISBN: 9780071769235.

Gilman, A. G., T. W. Rall, et al. Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. McGraw-Hill Professional, 1996. ISBN: 9780070262669.

Guyton, Arthur C., and John E. Hall. Textbook of Medical Physiology. 10th ed. Saunders, 2000. ISBN: 9780721686776. [Preview with Google Books]

Widmaier, Eric, Hershel Raff, and Kevin Strang. Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body Function. 7 Sub ed. William C Brown Pubulication, 1998. ISBN: 9780070670655.

Mescher, Anthony. Junqueira's Basic Histology: Text and Atlas. 13th ed. McGraw-Hill Medical, 2013. ISBN: 9780071780339. [Preview with Google Books]

Bloom, William, and Don W. Fawcett. A Textbook of Histology. 10th ed. W. B. Saunders, 1975. ISBN: 9780721617572.

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