Postgraduate Specialisation in Child Neuropsychiatry

Biochemistry

Course code

4S00103

Name of lecturer

Giovanni Gotte

Number of ECTS credits allocated

1

Academic sector

BIO/10 - BIOCHEMISTRY

Language of instruction

Italian

Site

VERONA

Period

not yet allocated

Learning outcomes

Deepen your knowledge of some topics concerning the biochemistry of the brain and nervous system

Syllabus

Notes on metabolism in general. Brain metabolism: anaerobic metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism. Ketogenesis and use of ketone bodies. Glutamate and glutamine. Pathophysiology of nervous system metabolism. Transmission of nervous impulses. Excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters derived from amino acids and non-amino acids. Dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic. Notes on enzymatic defects involved in the synthesis and/or regulation of neurotransmitters. Proteins, notes on structural aspects. Aberrant structures of protein aggregates and neurodegenerative diseases. Organ-specific and/or systemic amyloidosis. Amyloid fibrils and pathological effects. Toxic and/or non-toxic protein oligomers. Mechanisms of protein aggregation. Intimate structure of fibrils and structural polymorphisms. Complete structure of fibrils thanks to the “Cryo-EM” microscopy technique. Molecules interfering with fibrils and new possible therapeutic horizons.

Reference books

See the teaching bibliography

Assessment methods and criteria