Principles of Drug Action

This course is a study of structural features of drugs, functional group properties and pharmacokinetic and receptor interactions, fundamentals of pattern recognition that relate chemical structure to pharmacological action, the composition and structure of proteins, classification of enzymes and coenzymes, enzyme kinetics and regulation, drug biotransformation, principles of pharmacology and receptors including drug receptor properties, drug dose response curves, mechanisms of signal transduction, and common receptor subtypes. This course reviews principles of neurobiology and pharmacology as applied to the autonomic and somatic nervous systems. A study of the basic principles of drug action is presented for specific drug classes including: mechanisms of drug action, and routes of administration, clinical uses, disposition, contraindications, adverse reactions, clinically significant drug interactions, and drug disease interaction. The basic concepts of toxicology and adverse drug reactions are also introduced. (PHAR 315)

PharmD