Using Vincent van Gogh’s Illnesses to Revise Medicinal Chemistry

Objective: Review sessions provide an opportunity for the students to revise materials they have learned previously. A case study has been designed using the story of Vincent van Gogh, a legendary painter with various illnesses. With this case study, almost all kinds of central nervous system drugs, including antidepressants, sedative– hypnotics, anti-epileptics, analgesics and antipsychotic drugs were reviewed, and several basic concepts of medicinal chemistry were revised, from pharmacokinetics and drug discovery to structure–property and structure–activity relationships. Methods: a series of student tests were performed to evaluate the effect of case study teaching. This study was designed to examine whether the method of review had any effect on three main factors: final exam performance, study habits and interest in medicinal chemistry. In total, 168 students in three classes participated in the study, 83 in the case-based review group (case study of van Gogh’s illnesses) and 85 in the control group (traditional review materials). All of the students attended these classes separately and there was no significant difference in attendance. Both classes were held during normal class time, which meant that students did not need to make special accommodations in order to attend. Results: The students who attended this review course had positive outcomes in terms of their concluding final exam performance, study habits, and student interest in medicinal chemistry. Conclusion: Case study from famous people’s legend story could increase the students’ interest. This method could potentially be used as a new teaching method to revise medicinal chemistry.