Contact: Prof. Milan Kriška, Head of the Institute, 811 08 Bratislava, Sasinkova 4, Slovakia. tel. +421 7 59357 111

3rd year /summer term (30 hours lectures + 20 h tutorials)

4th year / winter term (30 hours lectures + 20 h tutorials)

Pharmacology - syllabus

I . GENERAL PHARMACOLOGY

Prescription of Drugs. Drug standards and references, pharmacopoeia. Sources of information. Drug nomenclature. Specificity of drug action. Basic principles of movement in the body. Drug absorption. Bioavailability. Mechanisms of drug transport. Drug distribution. Drug biotransformation. Pharmacogenetics. Drug elimination. Basic terms of pharmacokinetics. Biological half life. Drug level after single and repeated drug administration. First-pass effect. Area under curve. Steady state. Therapeutic drug monitoring. Mechanisms of drug action. Accumulation. Tachyphylaxis. Tolerance. Drug addiction. Chronopharmacology. Drug interactions. Adverse drug reactions (ADR). Risks of pharmacotherapy in pregnancy and lactation. Risks of pharmacotherapy in geriatrics. Teratogenesis, functional damage to the foetus. Good clinical praxis. Compliance.

II. SPECIAL PHARMACOLOGY

Pharmacology of autonomic nervous system. Mechanisms of neurochemical transmission. Sympathomimetics. Sympatholythics. Alpha-sympatholytics. Beta-sympatholytics. Indirect acting sympatholythics. Direct and indirect acting parasympathomimetics. Parasympatholytics. Ganglion-blocking drugs. Neuromuscular-blocking drugs.

Local anaesthetics. General anaesthetics. Combinations of anaesthetics. Neuroleptanalgesy and neuroleptanaesthesia. Psychotropic drugs. Anxiolytics. Pharmacotherapy of insomnia. Antidepressant drugs. Neuroleptic drugs. Psychostimulants and psychodysleptic drugs. Nootropic drugs. Central acting muscle relaxants. Antiparkinson drugs. Antiepileptic drugs. Pain and pharmacotherapy of pain syndromes. Opioid analgesics. Antinflammatory drugs, antirrheumatics, antiarthrotics.

Cardiotonic Agents. Nonglycoside cardiotonic agents. Antiarrhytmic Agents. drugs used in the treatment of angina pectoris. Drugs for acute attack and preventive drugs. Antihypertensives. Principles of drug combination in hypertension. Diuretics. Vasodilating drugs. Direct and indirect anticoagulants. Fibrinolytics. Antiaggregants and hemorheologics. Antianemics.

The respiratory system: classification and characteristics of individual drug groups affecting smooth muscle, motion and secretion of the airways. Antitussives, expectorants, secretolytics, mucolytics, secretomotorics. Stimulants of surfactant production. Antiasthmatic drugs. Bronchiodilators. Drugs controlling inflammation. Drugs used to inhibit histamine and spasmogenic mediator release from the mast cells. Methylxanthines. Principles of pharmacotherapy of acute attacks, drugs used for prophylaxis. The gastrointestinal system: Stomachics and amara. Anorectics. Acids. Emetics.Drugs used in the treatment of ulcer disease. Antacids. Drugs used to decrease HCL secretion. H2 receptor antagonists. Proton-pump inhibitors. Anticholinergic drugs. Mucosa protective drugs. Drugs used in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Antiemesis and prokinetic drugs. Drugs used in the treatment of pancreatic and hepatobiliary diseases. Digestive enzymes, Cholagogues, choleretics, cholekinetics, hepatoprotective agents. Drugs used by the functional disturbances and diseases of the guts, adsorbents. Laxatives. Drugs in constipation. Smooth muscle relaxant = antispasmodicss of the gastrointestinal tract.

Endocrine system. Gluucocorticoids for systemic and local use Mineralocorticoids. Antidiabetics. Insulin. Insulin antagonists. Oral antidiabetics. Hormones of thyroid gland. Hormones of parathyroid gland. Calcitonin. Pharmacotherapy of hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis.Sex hormones. Male sex hormones. Anabolics. Female sex hormones. -estrogens, gestagens, physiological role, use in therapy, antiestrogens. Hormonal contraception. Hormones of hypophysis. Hormones of adenohypophysis. Growth hormone and its use. Hormones of neurohypophysis - vasopressin, oxytocine. Uterotonics and tocolytics.

Antiinfetive agents. Drugs of choice for managing antimicrobial therapy. Penicillins. Monobactams carbapenems, beta-lactamase inhibitors. Cephalosporins. Macrolides. Tetracyclines. Chloramphenicol. Lincosamide and vancomycine antbiotics. Glycopetide antibiotics. Aminoglycosides. Polypetide antibiotics. Antibiotics used locally. Sulphonamides. Quinolones. Antituberculosis agents. Antifungal drugs. Antiviral drugs. Pharmacotherapy of AIDS. Anthelmintic drugs. Antiprotozoal drugs. Disinfective and antiseptic agents.

Cancer chemotherapy. Immunosuppressive and immunostimulant drugs. X-ray contrast agents. Histamine antagonists. Antidotes. General priniples of poisoning treatment. Vitamins. Vitamins in the role of antioxidants.

Recommened literature:

Rang H.P., Dale M.M.: Pharmacology. Ed. Churchill Livingstone, 1991

B. Katzung : Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Prentice Hall; Inc. 1994

Goodman and Gilman´s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, Ed. Alfred Goodman Gilman, 9 ed. Pergamon Press, 1991.