Endocrine Pharmacology A (U01039)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : BMS-4-PHep1

The Course will be organised and examined as a pair with Endocrine Pharmacology B.

Module Content: Endocrinology is the study of hormones and how they impact on target organs distinct and far from their site of origin. Intracrinology is an advancing field determining how hormones act within the same cell from which they are derived and within the same tissue. This module will discuss in detail the mechanisms whereby steroid hormone (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, oestrogens, progestogens and androgens) are regulated. Topics will include the biological properties of steroid hormones, the function of nuclear hormone receptors, the families of enzymes regulating steroid hormone biosynthesis and metabolism and neuroendocrine pathways of signaling and feedback. This will explain the basic normal functions of steroid hormones and, by extrapolation, what happens when the action of these hormones is aberrant. Mechanisms of disease and therapeutics will then be covered in detail in Endocrine Pharmcology 2: Therapeutics.

Module Structure: The module will comprise a series of seminars (1-2h/day) across an eleven week period delivered by non-clinical and clinical scientists from Edinburgh and also invited external speakers. These lectures will draw on their own expertise and research interests to provide an up-to-date presentation of current scientific understanding and also areas of excellence in Edinburgh. In addition the students will participate in a series of 2 laboratory sessions in which they learn the principles of hormone analysis simulating a Clinical Biochemistry lab. In addition to demonstrating the theory of immunoassay principles and quality control procedures, samples from healthy and diseased subjects will be analysed.The students will also design and execute an experiment aimed at characterizing a physiological or pharmacological response to steroid hormones. A lab report will be prepared and feedback offered.