WINTER 2020
UNION COLLEGE, SCHENECTADY, NY

Location and Meeting Time: WLDC 225, MWF 11:45am-12:50pm

SYLLABUS OF STUDY

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The main objectives of this course are to understand some of the fundamental concepts involved in the regulation of organismal homeostasis and metabolism by the hormones of the endocrine system, how the endocrine system is regulated, and how to diagnose and treat endocrine diseases.

1. 1. TEXTBOOK (required)
      1. Essential Endocrinology and Diabetes by Richard Holt and Neil Hanley, Blackwell Publishing 6th edition.
      2. I will also be using material from multiple other texts including but not limited to:
         1. Greenspan’s Basic and Clinical Endocrinology, David Gardner and Dolores Shoback, McGraw-Hill, 8th Edition, 2007.
         2. Endocrinology: An Integrated Approach by S.S. Nussey and S.A. Whitehead. BIOS scientific Publishers (2001). This text is available free online through the National Center for Biotechnology Information by following this link.
         3. Essential Cell Biology, by Bruce Alberts et al (2004), 2nd Edition published by Garland Science, Inc. New York

      There are a large number of website links listed below that I also will use as resources

   2. LECTURE PRESENTATIONS

      Presentations will make use of traditional teaching tools as well as assorted electronic resources. I will rely heavily on Nexus to transmit files including supplemental readings and slides presented in class. If you have any problems please let me know so I can find another way to get you the required files.

   3. GRADES

1. Students With Disabilities Please come to my office to discuss accommodations such as extended test-taking, etc.

TENTATIVE  BIOLOGY 370 LECTURE OUTLINE  (We may cover a greater or fewer number of topics, depending upon the time available)

Infographic- Nutraceuticals: Friends or foes?

When you walk into any nutrition store or if you perform a quick search online, you can find an enormous number of dietary supplements, including herbal extracts, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that claim to exert effects on the endocrine system. Some of these compounds may claim to enhance the action of hormones, others inhibit. Additionally, many compounds exhibit effects on the endocrine system as unwanted side effects.

The goal of this assignment is to analyze one of these “nutraceuticals” or dietary supplements to determine if it affects the endocrine system and if it does, how those actions manifest themselves. I would like you to design an “infographic” addressing the following questions:

1. What’s in it?
2. What is it supposed to do to the endocrine system?
3. Is there any evidence regarding its claims?
4. Is there any risk in taking it?
5. What would your recommendation be to a patient who comes to you and wants to take this?
6. References

Here are some helpful links:

• Bio-Identicals: Sorting Myths from Facts
• Dietary Supplements
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• Sample Infographic

Every student must review a different nutraceutical. To ensure that there is no overlap, please use the link to go to the list and fill in your nutraceutical. First come first served!

Fake News?

A quick search of websites and periodicals will show you that endocrinology is always a hot topic in the news. From BPA in water bottles to bone loss in the elderly, it seems like there is always some new study out there. Especially for those of you who are hoping to enter the health professions, you will be regularly asked about what you think on news articles. This assignment is dedicated to getting you to do just that- find a current news article (from between 12/1/17 and 3/15/18) in a magazine or newspaper (NOT A SCIENCE JOURNAL OR SCIENCE MAGAZINE/WEBSITE) and write a short summary (2-3 paragraphs) including the following:

1. What hormone(s) is/are the article about?
2. What was the basic premise of the article? Was it a study- if so, what was the basic findings?
3. Is there any evidence regarding the claims the article makes? How solid is the evidence?
4. Do you agree with the authors? Do you trust the authors?
5. What would your recommendation be to a patient who comes to you and asks you about the article?
6. References- please reference the article. I doubt you will need any outside references unless you find some other article contradicting yours.

Endocrinology Links

• General endocrinology
  • Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders: Merck Manual Professional
  • Endocrine Diseases
  • Endocrinology Articles
  • Endotext | The FREE Complete Source for Clinical Endocrinology
  • PHOENIX PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
  • ZO 250 – Course Materials
  • National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service at NIDDK
• Case presentations
  • Case Presentation- Good example of how to
  • Cases Database | Unlock the value of medical case reports
  • Clinical Medicine & Research
  • Journal of Medical Case Reports
• HP axis
  • MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia Pituitary hormones
  • Pituitary Network Association
• Adrenal
  • Braz J Med Biol Res – vol.33 no.10
  • Cushing’s Support & Research Foundation
• Reproduction
  • Menopause, NAMS – Menopause Information
• Thyroid
  • Case of the Month – Thyroid Disease ManagerThyroid Disease Manager
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands
• Obesity
  • BIOC2120 lecture 4
  • The Science Creative Quarterly » LEPTIN A PIECE OF THE OBESITY PIE