Pathologies and therapeutic strategies

• Medication, 17 октября 18:30, 418-419 Физтех.Арктики

This lecture is an overview of mankind’s attempts to cure diseases. It begins with a historical account of how empirical medicine was used to identify the first medications. The following large section of the talk is devoted to the currently used ways of identifying bioactive compounds. The final section is a discussion of the journey that a bioactive substance makes before becoming a medication.

• Neuroactive compounds, 18 октября 18:30, 418-419 Физтех.Арктики

In this lecture, various drugs affecting the nervous system will be discussed. The first part of the lecture is about the way anesthetics work. It recounts the basic neurological principles, such as membrane potential and action potential. The second part presents an overview of recreational drugs and the mechanisms by which people become addicted. In the last part, professor Gautreau will speak about various sedative molecules and antidepressants and the facts their studies reveal about the pathophysiological substratum of depression.

• Neurodegenerative diseases, 24 октября 18:30, 418-419 Физтех.Арктики

Neurodegenerative diseases are a major challenge for modern societies, characterized by a growing proportion of elderly people. The third lecture overviews the most important diseases of this kind, including sporadic Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases in aged people, as well as genetic diseases, such as Huntington’s, and the infectious diseases mediated by prions. The lecturer specifically looks at the shared underlying cause of protein misfolding and aggregation. The talk concludes with an attempt to define the elusive mechanisms responsible for neuronal death in these diseases.