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BMS243 Nutrition, Metabolism & Human Disease (8)

Abstract

In this subject, students examine metabolism pertinent to the study of nutrition. The subject relies on a basic understanding of human metabolic pathways and extends students' understanding of the pathogenesis of various common diseases in biochemical detail.

+ Subject Availability Modes and Location

Session 2
OnlineWagga Wagga Campus
Continuing students should consult the SAL for current offering details: BMS243
Where differences exist between the Handbook and the SAL, the SAL should be taken as containing the correct subject offering details.

Subject information

Duration Grading System School:
One sessionHD/FLSchool of Biomedical Sciences

Assumed Knowledge

BCM211 (or BMS205 or BCM210) and BMS240 It is assumed that students have either completed or are concurrently studying BMS208 Human Nutrition.

Enrolment restrictions

Incompatible subject(s)
BMS322

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:
  • be able to describe the underlying principles of inherited metabolic disorders, with special reference to phenylketonuria and galactosaemia;
  • be able to give examples of the role of metabolic lesions on the pathogenesis of common human diseases;
  • be able to integrate metabolic knowledge from earlier biochemistry subjects to describe the metabolic adaptations (and their underlying regulation) to a range of physiological states;
  • be able to describe the influence of dietary factors on the development of common diseases such as liver disease, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease;
  • be able to state the influences of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants on the pathogenesis of common human diseases;
  • be able to explain how the metabolic changes in nutritional diseases such as anorexia, marasmus and kwashiorkor result in the observed clinical symptoms for these diseases;
  • be able to specify how metabolic changes in both physiological and pathological states may affect human nutritional requirements; and
  • be able to acquire and analyse information from relevant scientific literature and present a synthesis of findings on a given topic relevant to nutrition, metabolism and health.

Syllabus

The subject will cover the following topics:
  • Inherited metabolic disorders, with special reference to the metabolic lesions resulting in cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria and galactosaemia - their nutritional implications;
  • Revision of the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, and introduction to the metabolism of fructose;
  • Metabolic adaptations to the post-prandial and starvation states - the role of hormones as metabolic regulators;
  • Metabolic adaptations to severe exercise - the scientific basis of nutritional loading;
  • Liver function (metabolism of alcohol, detoxification, nutrient reserves, bile production, excretion);
  • Liver pathology (pathological effects of alcohol, jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis);
  • Endocrine control of blood glucose levels, with special reference to the diabetes mellitus (its pathogenesis, diagnosis, control and monitoring);
  • The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, with special reference to the dietary influences on risk factors;
  • Free radical and reactive oxygen biology;
  • The metabolic syndrome - its development, diagnosis and use as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus;
  • Metabolic adaptations to stress, especially in severely ill people. Nutritional implications;
  • Metabolic changes in severe nutritional deficiency diseases such as anorexia, marasmus and kwashiorkor - nutritional implications;
  • Metabolic changes in cancer cachexia - nutritional implications.

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The information contained in the 2017 CSU Handbook was accurate at the date of publication: 25 August 2017. The University reserves the right to vary the information at any time without notice.