METABOLIC PATHWAYS: CLINICAL ASPECTS OF ENERGY METABOLISM (BMB 616)

Course Directors: Mitch Lewis, Ph.D. and Hillary Nelson, Ph.D.
Spring

This course will focus on the clinical aspects of energy metabolism, with an emphasis on how we maintain a continuous supply of glucose in the body without eating continuously.  Additional topics will cover turnover, including nitrogen, purine, and cholesterol metabolism.  We will also discuss the metabolic requirements of different organs, focusing on brain, liver, muscle, and adipose.  Each topic, from glycolysis to C1 metabolism, will be covered by readings, handouts, an overview lecture, and a clinical case, the latter of which is the real core of the course. The two hour problem solving sessions will be exercises in how to use your information on intermediate metabolism to approach medically related problems.  There will be one take home exam and one clinical case study.  Students will also be graded on class participation during the problem solving sessions. 

Prerequisites: an undergraduate level course on biochemistry and permission of the instructor (for non-BGS students). 

Topic

Problem Solving Session

Glycolysis      

Hemolysis

Pentose phosphate shunt

Anemia

Hemoglobin

Polycythemia

CAC/Ox Phos

Excessive Metabolic Rate (Lufts' disease)

Glucose homeostasis

Unregulated Insulin Secretion (Insulinoma)

Glycogen metabolism

Muscular Atrophy/Fasting Hypoglycemia

Gluconeogenesis

Fasting Ketotic Hypoglycemia

Fatty acid oxidation

Muscle breakdown/Hypoglycemia (two cases)

Hyperglycemia

Diabetes

Nitogen turnover          

Urea cycle/Amino acid metabolism (two cases)

Purine turnover

Gout

C1 metabolism

Folate/B12 deficiency

Cholesterol

Hypercholesterolemia