Specialised Field of Study


Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine

MEDI6600 Metabolic Medicine

(Candidates taking this Specialised Field of Study should also take the Core Course MEDI6500 Cell Metabolism as basic knowledge)

Aim(s)

  • To help students to develop skills and critical thinking for both basic and clinical research on metabolic diseases.
  • To provide students an updated knowledge in major metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardio-metabolic syndrome, cancer and other aging-related disorders.
  • To introduce current and future treatment and prevention of major metabolic disorders.

Contents

Course Code Courses Credit Units
MEDI6601

Current therapeutic strategies for metabolic diseases

  • Current drugs for obesity, diabetes, diabetic complications and lipid disorders
  • Functional food, nutraceuticals and traditional herbals for treatment of metabolic disorders
  • Life style modifications (calorie restriction, exercise and balanced diet etc) in the prevention of metabolic disorders
  • Metabolic disease drug discovery: from bench to bed
6
MEDI6602

Current topics in energy balance and obesity

  • Adipose tissue dysfunction and obesity
  • Brown adipose tissue: a weapon against obesity
  • Control of energy balance by the gut-brain-liver axis
  • Latest concepts on energy intake and energy expenditure
  • Modern technologies for obesity research
  • White adipose tissue as an energy storage organ and secretory gland
6
MEDI6603

Recent advances in metabolic disorders

  • Calcium metabolism and osteoporosis
  • Cancer as a metabolic disease
  • Genetically inherited metabolic disease
  • Lipid abnormality, inflammation and atherosclerotic diseases
  • Metabolic changes in autoimmune diseases
  • Metabolic derangement in aging
  • Metabolic dysregulation and different types of diabetes
  • Mitochondrial disorders
6

Learning outcomes

On completion of these courses, students will be able to:

  • explain how altered energy homeostasis causes obesity and body weight again.
  • demonstrate an appreciation of the links between metabolism abnormalities and major human diseases.
  • evaluate the current methods of drug development and therapeutics for obesity, diabetes and cardio-metabolic syndrome.
  • describe the importance of life style modifications in the prevention of metabolic diseases.

Mode of teaching

Lectures, Essay writing and Literature review

Assessment

In-course assessment and Final examination


Departmental Coordinator(s)
Professor A Xu
Tel : 3917 9754
Email: amxu@hku.hk