Pharmacokinetics, 7.5 credits

About the course

This is a basic course in pharmacokinetics, i.e. about the uptake and disposition of drugs in the body, and in pharmacodynamics, i.e. the description of drug effects with special focus on the time course of the effect(s).

The course deals with absorption, plasma protein binding, tissue distribution and elimination of drugs by the liver and kidneys and how these processes determine the overall disposition of the drug in the organism. In addition, the relationships between dose - concentration - effect are described. The course also deals with the calculation and evaluation of parameters that describe pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes, both regarding single dose and repeated dose administration. Finally, it describes the theoretical basis for clinical drug dosing, reasons for and rational handling of inter-individual variation in drug disposition as well as drug-drug interactions.

During the course, the student works with a drug interaction from an article. The interaction should be presented with regard to how the drugs involved affect e.g. pharmacokinetic parameters and what the consequences may be in different patient groups.

In a web-based, interactive, individual assignment, data is generated through a simulated clinical trial with the aim of training and understanding pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. At a final workshop, these parameters are used to predict drug concentration and/or variability in patient populations.