Nutritional Pharmacology

Catalog description

For the major classes of drugs currently used in medical therapy, this course will review absorption, distribution, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and excretion. Interactions with nutrients and dietary constituents at any point in these processes, as well as known and potential drug-nutrient-food relationships, dose response considerations, and potential toxicity, will be discussed. Drug nutrient interaction risk will be explored for the patient on parenteral nutrition support, the ambulatory nutrient-compromised patient, and the nutrient-replete patient. Specific, commonly prescribed drugs, together with their specific interactions with food and nutrients, will be covered. The course will provide a mechanistic, rather than an encyclopedic approach, to provide students the tools to assess potential drug-nutrient interactions in new drugs as they are introduced.