Postgraduate Course: Environmental determinants of cardiometabolic disorders - birth weight & prenatal programming/rural to urban transition (GMED11017)
Course Outline
| School | School of Clinical Sciences | 
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine | 
 
| Course type | Standard | 
Availability | Available to all students | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) | 
Credits | 10 | 
 
| Home subject area | General Courses (Medicine) | 
Other subject area | None | 
   
| Course website | 
http://www.internationalhealthncd.mvm.ed.ac.uk/ | 
Taught in Gaelic? | No | 
 
| Course description | This course will provide an outline of the multiple determinants (genetic and environmental) of cardiometabolic disease, reflecting on the rapidly expanding field of developmental origins of health and disease.  The Course will review evidence for the influence of nutritional experiences in early life and their putative programming effects on adult cardiometabolic phenotype (the Barker hypothesis).  It will describe potential mechanisms in the programming of hypertension and hyperglycaemia, and review the role of prenatal overexposure to glucocorticoids in fetal programming of adult disease  
 
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites | 
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Co-requisites |  | 
 
| Prohibited Combinations |  | 
Other requirements |  None | 
 
| Additional Costs |  Students will be responsible for their computer equipment and internet access. | 
 
 
Information for Visiting Students 
| Pre-requisites | None | 
 
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes | 
 
 
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |   
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes 
On completion of this course the candidate should be able to:  
*	Describe the concept of >fetal programming< 
*	Describe how early life (prenatal/perinatal) events predispose to a common adult cardio-metabolic phenotype. 
*	Provide an overview of the epidemiological evidence for how nutritional experiences during critical periods of early development predispose the offspring to the development of adult metabolic phenotypes. 
*	Describe how prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids may underpin this link 
*	Summarize animal data linking in utero exposure to cardiometabolic disorders in adulthood. 
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Assessment Information 
| Formal summative written assessment will constitute 60% of the student's grade. Online assessment will incorporate a variety of activities and will constitute 40% of the overall course grade and is taken to represent a formative assessment of learning throughout the programme |  
 
Special Arrangements 
| This course will be taught entirely by distance learning, using the virtual learning environment WebCT as the delivery platform. Course materials are protected by secure username and password access that will be made available to registered users. |   
 
Additional Information 
| Academic description | 
Not entered | 
 
| Syllabus | 
Not entered | 
 
| Transferable skills | 
Not entered | 
 
| Reading list | 
Not entered | 
 
| Study Abroad | 
Not entered | 
 
| Study Pattern | 
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| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Dr Liz Grant 
Tel:  
Email:  | 
Course secretary | Dr Liz Grant 
Tel:  
Email:  | 
   
 
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