VET358 Pharmacology and Toxicology

In pharmacology and toxicology we build on knowledge from physiology and biochemistry to teach about drugs and toxins. The course includes lectures, groupwork and journal clubs. We base the lectures on the human pharamcology book Rang, Ritter, Flower and Henderson: 'Rang&Dale's Pharmacology' and on 'Veterinary Pharmacology & Therapeutics' among others. Rang & Dale is very good on general subject, and has very useful illustrations, but does not cover veterinary medicine. From the book 'Veterinary Pharmacology & Therapeutics' we share specific chapters in pdf format. Compendia, scientific papers and other resources will also be made accessible.

Learning outcome description

VET358 in veterinary pharmacology includes learning about the pharmacological prinicples for, and the different classes of drugs that are used in the treatment of infectious disease, antiparasitic treatment, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory conditions and for anaesthesia and analgesia. The student should obtain basic knowledge for general pharmacological and toxicological principles and knowledge about qualitative and quantitative aspects of pharmacological therapy, mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, interactions between different drugs and pharmacogenetics. The student should have knowledge of legislation nationally and within the European Union a a basis for the correct clinical use of drugs and writing of prescriptions. The student should also aquire knowledge about different pharmacological formulations, routes of administration and the handling of drugs.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

After having taken the VET358 course, the students should

1. explain basic terms and principles in pharmaco-/toxicodynamics and pharmaco-/toxicokinetics and explain what they mean
2. explain basic prinicples for how a drug works through well-described molecular points-of-action (receptors, enzymes, ion channels and transport proteins), and how this results in effects and side effects through changes in cell biology and physiology
3. explain basic terms and principles describing how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolised and eliminated in the body and how these processes can influence the application of a drug, its effects and side effects.
4. explain the importance of different formulations of drugs and how this can impact optimal treatment
5. explain the basic principles for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between drugs and how this can influence the use and effect of drugs.
6. explain the basic principles for how individual differences, including genetic differences, can cause variability in the effect of drugs, and be able to show this by well-known, clinically important examples
7. explain the mechanisms, effects, side-effects and main prinicples for the clinical use of the groups of drugs listed below. The focus is on the most commonly used substances within each group and on the effects and side effects that can be related to known mechanisms of action However, the students are expected to know about clinically important effects and side-effects also in cases where the mechanism of action is less well known
   1. Cardiovascular drugs
   2. Antimicrobial drugs
   3. Antiparasittic drugs
   4. Anti-inflammatory drugs, with focus on antihistamines, NSAIDs and glukokortikoids.
   5. Drugs that influence the autonomous and the somatic efferent nervous system.
   6. Drugs that influence the central nervous system: explain the pharmacological mechanisms of effects and side effects for different anaesthetic and sedative drugs and treatment of pain with opioid and non-opioid analgetic drugs, as well as psycopharmaka, and describe the most important features of the transmittor systems that are influenced by these drugs, and the mechanisms behind the most important side effects.
8. explain what a valid prescription should contain and how it should be written, and know the correct nomenclature for prescriptions.
9. explain laws and regulations that regulate the prescription of drugs
10. explain how laws and regulations for the use of drugs in veterinary medicine contribute to good animal health, good animal welfare and good food safety
11. explain the different formulations of drugs that can be used on veterinary species, the demands on their quality and the correct routes of administration for different formulations
12. know of chemical, physical and microbial processes that can influence the shelf life of drugs
13. explain general storageconditions for drugs
14. describe the guidelines for maximal shelf life for drugs after first use
15. know of the most important reasons for wrong use of or lack of compliance with regulations for the use of drugs to veterinary species

Skills

After having taken the VET358 course, the students should be able to

1. evaluate preventative treatment and curative treatment with medicines, and make knowledge-based evaluations with regards to choice of substance
2. evaluate dose-response curves and calculate parameters from them
3. evaluate pharmacological principles, the mechanism of effect of drugs, factors influencing the absorption, metabolism and elimination of drugs and calculate simple pharmacokinetic parameters
4. evaluate the importance of possible interactions between drugs based on relevant information about their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic traits
5. evaluate choice of substance and plan different therapeutic regimes for individually adjusted treatments based on pharmacological knowledge
6. consider challenges caused by the wrong use of drugs
7. evaluate aspects related to drug-driven resistance in microbes and parasites
8. make all types of prescriptions, and find, evaluate and apply different quality controlled sources of information that makes it possible to stay up to date on relevant pharmacological substances and their use
9. evaluate local vs systemic pharmacologic treatment

General competence

After VET358 the students should be able to:

1. reflect over choice of drug for preventative or curative treatment
2. reflect over challenges caused by the wrong use of drugs and lack of compliance
3. discuss the content and relevance of scientific, peer-reviewed papers
4. present subjects from VET358 orally to peers, and participate in peer evaluation of presentations

Environmental toxicology

Learning outcomes

It is expected that the student will have acquired knowledge and understanding of key concepts and methods within the subject of toxicology. They must also acquire knowledge about pollution sources and an understanding of how environmental toxins spread from sources to animals, food, and people. A certain knowledge of environmental toxins and toxicological risk assessment is also expected, which is taught more extensively in chemical food safety.

Learning objectives:

1. General knowledge of environmental toxicology (terms and definitions)
2. Knowledge of key environmental toxins that occur in nature and in animals, food and people.
3. Knowledge of properties and knowledge of "new" (contaminants of emerging concern) and "old" (legacy contaminants) environmental toxins.
4. Knowledge of the pollution chain; sources, spread, absorption/disposition in organisms, effects.
5. Knowledge of toxicological risk assessment for chemicals and knowledge of the components included in a risk analysis, risk assessment and risk characterization.
6. Know the background for determining the threshold value for environmental effects.

Chemical food safety

Learning outcome description

Through the teaching, the students will receive an introduction to basic principles in toxicological risk assessment and chemical food safety, which will make it possible to continue working with food safety in semester 8.

Learning objectives

1. Knowledge:
   1. Chemical food safety. Toxicological risk assessment and risk management of food.
   2. Knowledge of basic principles in food toxicology and how chemical food safety is ensured.
   3. Knowledge of toxicity, dose-response relationships, toxicokinetics, establishment of limit values (such as ADI, TDI/TWI, ML, MRL), genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens, use of Benchmark Dose (BMD) and BMDL, use of Margin of Exposure (MOE).
   4. Knowledge of the principles for toxicological risk assessment of food, how they are practiced in the Scientific Committees for Food Safety (VKM) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), how benefit and risk can be weighed, how combination effects can occur, and how substances are regulated in Norway and the EU.
2. Skills:
   1. The students must begin to think holistically within food chains and see toxicological issues at the various stages in the chains.
   2. The students must be able to make independent assessments of academic issues related to food safety within the various food chains.
3. General competence:

Students must gain a basic understanding of the subject chemical food safety as a link between veterinary medicine and community medicine within the understanding framework of One Health before the main emp