Biochemistry of Medical Imaging

Cell biology

 T – The teaching methods include using audiovisual media in lectures, the discussion of short case-studies dedicated to metabolic biochemistry (inborn errors of metabolism), the study of biomarkers for diagnosing and monitoring the treatment, and also  exercises to apply theoretical contents.

TP – Students are encouraged to apply the knowledge acquired in thedevelopment of work through advanced search, critical review and discussion of relevant scientifc papers dedicated to radiopharmaceuticals.

The intended learning outcomes of the curricular unit of Biochemistry of Medical Imaging are the following:

1- Understanding of the structural and functional aspects of the biomacromolecules of the cell and  the importance of the structure-function relationship;

2- Comprehension of the cell bioenergetics, the main biochemical metabolic routes and its integration and regulation;

3- The fundamentals of radiopharmaceuticals and its integration in the metabolic pathways;

4- Understanding the use of different imaging techniques to obtain specific information about the metabolic pathways of different tissues and organs , which are the basis of possible uses in imaging.

In terms of competencies, at the end of this curricular unit, the student should be able to:

1- Understand the structure of the biomacromolecules and relate structure to function, globally comprehend the cell functioning and in particular the molecular mechanisms involved in the use of radiopharmaceuticals, either in clinical practice or under development;

2-  Understand the fundamentals of the cell bioenergetics and metabolism, and the respective regulation;

3- Recognize the metabolic specificities of the different tissues;

4- Select one metabolic target to be used to address an image translating its metabolic activity.

1. BIOMOLECULES  

– Amino acids and proteins; Enzymes; Carbohydrates; Lipids; Hormones

– Structure versus funtion

2. RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS                                                                                                            

– Use of radiopharmaceuticals – Basic principles

3.CELL BIOENERGETICS, METABOLISM and BIOMARKERS

3.1 Metabolism of carbohydrates                                                            

3.2 Metabolism of lipids                                                                             

3.3 Metabolism of proteins                                                                         

3.4 Metabolism of micronutrients                                                       

3.5 INTEGRATION OF METABOLISM, REGULATION AND ADAPTATION                                               

– Tissue/organ specifications

4. Use of radiopharmaceuticals in metabolic assessment                                                             

– SPECT radiopharmaceuticals

– PET radiopharmaceuticals

5. Spectroscopy in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance imaging                                                   

NAO

Primary bibliography

Halpern MJ, Freire AP, Quintas A. Bioquímica: Organização Molecular da Vida, ed. Lidel.

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry (D.L. Nelson & M. M. Cox) 5ª Ed.,

Nuclear Medicine in Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment (P. Ell, S. Gambhir) 3ª Ed., Churchill Livingstone, 2004.

Molecular Nuclear Medicine. The Chalenge of Genomics and Proteomics to Clinical Practice (L. E. Feinendegen et al. eds), Springer, 2003

Nuclear Medicine: The Requisites (Janis P. O’Malley and James H. Thrall), 4 edition, Elsevier Saunders, 2014

The pathophysiologic basis of nuclear medicine, 2nd Edition, (Abdelhamid H. Elgazzar) Springer, 2006