Life Sciences

Clinical Biochemistry

Module code: C7020
Level 5
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Laboratory
Assessment modes: Coursework, Computer based exam

This module outlines the biochemical mechanisms for controlling the pathways of lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism under different physiological and nutritional conditions and will discuss the importance of diseases arising from defects in these pathways.

Particular emphasis is placed upon the aetiology, symptoms and treatment of diseases such as:

• Type I and II diabetes mellitus
• the obesity epidemic and metabolic syndrome
• hypertension
• atherosclerosis and other lipid disorders
• inborn errors of carbohydrate and amino metabolism.

You discuss a variety of routine biochemical tests, together with their importance for the diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and screening for disease.

This module consists of lectures, including visiting lecturers with direct experience of the clinical field, online quizzes, a problem class and practicals.

Module learning outcomes

• Discuss in detail the major pathways of carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolism.
• Show a critical understanding of how these pathways are regulated under normal physiological and nutritional states.
• Discuss the ways in which alterations in the key metabolic pathways leads to the development of disease processes such as diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis and describe how these may be monitored and treated in the clinical setting.
• Employ a knowledge of metabolic pathways to analyse and interpret metabolic data and apply this to clinical case studies.