Neurology Department I

The Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University is a national doctoral program in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, a master’s degree program in neurology, a specialist physician training base in neurology under the Ministry of Health, and an advanced department of the hospital. Neurology Department I is one of the cognitive impairment bases in Dalian. The ward has 33 beds and currently has 3 professors/chief physicians, 2 associate professors, and 4 master’s supervisors, including 2 doctors with doctoral degrees, 1 doctoral candidate, and 2 with master’s degrees.

The department has strong overall technical capabilities. It has led or participated in more than 10 provincial, municipal, and national research projects, won 4 second- and third-class Science and Technology Progress Awards from Liaoning Province and Dalian Municipality, and published more than 30 papers in SCI-indexed journals and journals in the Chinese Medical Journal series. Department staff always put patients’ interests first and, guided by the理念 of “service, creativity, and doing everything well,” provide patients with high-quality, safe, and satisfactory medical services.

This discipline has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of common neurological diseases and difficult, complex conditions, with the following main specialties:

1. Memory impairment: Early diagnosis and treatment of various types of dementia have been implemented, and the use of internationally recognized dementia scales has been mastered. Brain structure, brain function, and brain metabolism examinations are conducted simultaneously, bringing the standardized early diagnosis and treatment of dementia in line with international standards. A memory impairment clinic has been established, along with a patient database, with regular tracking and follow-up. Drug treatment for dementia and family rehabilitation guidance are actively provided, and public education activities are conducted to improve families’ recognition rates. Clinical and basic research in this field has reached a leading level in Dalian and an advanced level in Liaoning Province, and this research has received multiple grants from the province and municipality.

2. Movement disorders: Clinical, neuropsychological, and imaging studies of Parkinson-plus syndromes have been conducted. Peripheral blood stem-cell therapy has been implemented with certain therapeutic effects, and umbilical cord blood stem-cell therapy is being further explored. Early identification and treatment of non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, as well as clinical and iron-metabolism studies of restless legs syndrome, are actively conducted. This research has received funding from the provincial and municipal science and technology bureaus.

3. Genetic diseases: We were the first in Liaoning Province to conduct genetic testing for hereditary diseases of the central nervous system. Genetic testing has identified 14 families with hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) in the Dalian area. We have further completed an epidemiological survey of SCA families in Dalian, established a gene bank, actively explored stem-cell and neurotrophic therapies, and provided guidance on marriage, childbearing, and rehabilitation training for patients with SCA.

4. Peripheral neuropathy: We have actively conducted clinical and electrophysiological examinations for peripheral neuropathies and provided standardized immunotherapy, improving patients’ rates of early recognition and clinical cure.