AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course of pharmacology is designed to form qualified personnel (gymnastic teachers, athletic trainers, experts of rehabilitation....etc), capable to dispense physical activity recognizing the most relevant features (indications and contraindications, side effects...etc) of pharmacologic therapies for those pathologies that are most commonly associated with sports activity. To this aim, the first part of the course examines the dinamics of interaction of drugs with human body, and the mechanisms through which drugs induces therapeutic modification of the diseases. The second part of the course is aimed to examine the most important drug cathegories that can be used in sport population, focusing on those that target sports-related pathologies.  The course will detail the pharmacologincal control of inflammation and pain, and the treatment of respiratory tract diseases. Last but not least, the course examines those drugs that, beyond their therapeutic usefulness, are abused in the absence of therapeutic needs, with the purpose of alterate physical performances of athletes. Such unnecessary and often overdosing treatments, expose athletes at high risk to suffer significant side effects or develop late-onset diseases that can severely endanger their health in post-agonistic life.

TEACHING METHODS

Given the endurance of COVID19 emergency, classes will be hold live on  microsoft teams platform. Students will be enabled to join a specific team through the following code:r3f12f6. On this team students will also find all the slides that have been used in the live lessons. The team will also be used to keep students in contact with the teacher and for reception. 

As soon as the emergency will be declared terminated classes will take place in form of lectures that will be held at the University of Genova Campus in Savona

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Overview on pharmacology

•  Definition of drug, aims of pharmacological therapy, interactions between drugs and body, clinical trials

Farmacokinetics

• Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs.
• Parameters of  pharmacokinetics (bioavailability, distribution volume, clearance, half-life)

Farmacodynamics:

• Targets and mechanisms of action of drugs
• Agonism and antagonism
• Side reactions.

Pharmacology for cathegories

• Miorelaxants
• Antinflammatory drugs (non steoidal antinflammatory drugs, antinflammatory steroids)
• Analgesic drugs  (opiates, paracetamol, adiuvants)
• Pharmacology of autonomous nerve system (use of agonists and antagonists of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems)
• Drugs used for pathologies of respiratoty system (Asthma, BCPO, allergic rinithys)
• Drug abuse in sports doping (anabolic hormones, stimulants, narcotics, diuretics, antinflammatory steroids)

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The text which is best recommended to integrate the topics that have been addressed in lectures is the following:

"Lippincott's illustrated reviews: Pharmacology", Authors: Michelle A. Clark, Richard Finkel, Jose A. Rey, Karen Whalen. EDS. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SERGIO AGOSTI

MARA BOSCHETTI

CRISTIANO NOVELLI

ANNA MARIA RICCIO

STEFANO THELLUNG DE COURTELARY (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The lessons will start the first week of march 2021 in the campus of Savona or, in the case of COVID19 emergency endurande, using microsoft platform teams. Students are encouraged to enter microsoft team ( for farmacology the code is: r3f12f6) in order to become accostumed to the platform and get in contact with the teacher.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Exames will be performed as interviews on microsoft teams platform. Few days before the scheduled dates, an announce will be send on the aulaweb section of  UNIGE website, with all the instruction to enter a specific team that will be formed  for the interviews. As the COVID19 emergency will  terminate the exam will be composed of a written part in form of single answer test, followed by a brief interview. The test comprehends 15 questions, each of them associated with 4 / 5 answer options (with only one correct); Every correct answer scores 2 (score 0 for uncorrect answers). Score of 18 or more is necessary to pass the test. An interview will follow, focusing on the subljects that have been failed in order to let the students to discuss their mistakes and give them the chance to improve their written score.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Student's knowledge of therapeutical indication and side effects of the most common sport-related drugs will be evaluated. Particular importance will be given to over-the-counter drugs whose use must take into consideration athletes physiology-pahtology characters (age, gender, concomitant drug therapies and personal or familiar disease hystory).

Exam schedule