Neurology

The Neurology Department of Dongguan People's Hospital is the only Guangdong Provincial Clinical Key Specialty in neurology in the city, the city's first national standardized residency training base for neurology, and the city's first specialty accredited under a national Good Clinical Practice (GCP) institution. It has successfully established a national advanced stroke center, a Level 2 epilepsy center of the China Anti-Epilepsy Association, a national advanced cognitive center (unit under construction), a national specialty base center for Parkinson's disease, and a headache center. It serves as the Dongguan professional quality control center for neurology and as the leading unit of the Dongguan neurology specialty alliance. The geriatric nursing specialty, for which the Neurology Department is the main force, is a key clinical specialty of Dongguan. In January 2023, the department obtained the Guangdong Province "14th Five-Year Plan" clinical key specialty construction project. In October 2025, the department was approved as the Dongguan specialized clinical center for neurology.

The Neurology Department has three wards and 167 beds (including 32 critical care beds), and is a discipline equipped with a well-developed neuroelectrophysiology center, a neurorehabilitation room and a neuropsychological assessment room; it is a neurology center integrating medical care, teaching and research. There are more than 6,500 inpatient admissions per year, more than 100,000 outpatient visits per year, 700 interventional procedures per year (of which more than 300 are grade IV procedures), and 150 acute endovascular treatments per year. The department adheres to a "people-centered" service philosophy and is committed to providing high-quality specialized medical and nursing services to the public.

The department has strong professional and technical capacity, with 5 physicians holding doctoral degrees (including 2 with postdoctoral research experience) and 24 holding master's degrees (physicians with a master's degree or above account for 70%). There are 8 physicians with full senior professional titles and 9 with associate senior professional titles; 1 municipal medical leading talent, 3 "Dongguan Famous Physicians," 2 supervisors of doctoral candidates and 4 supervisors of master's candidates. Professor Chen Yangkun, director of the discipline, has been named a Guangdong Province Outstanding Young Medical Talent, and is a member of the Neurorehabilitation Group of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, chairman of the Neurology Branch of the Dongguan Medical Association, vice chairman of the Neurology Specialty Committee of the Guangdong Hospital Association, and standing committee member of the Cerebrovascular Disease Branch of the Guangdong Medical Association.

The Neurology Department has a high-quality nursing team, including 2 nurses with master's degrees in nursing and 6 with associate senior professional titles or above. The team has trained 1 neurovascular interventional nurse, 2 geriatric specialty nurses, 2 swallowing rehabilitation nurses, 1 stroke rehabilitation nurse, and 1 nurse who went to Taiwan for advanced training in neurology nursing management. Individualized swallowing training is provided for patients with dysphagia; comprehensive assessment is carried out for elderly patients and appropriate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) techniques are applied; new techniques of PICC catheterization and nasojejunal tube placement have been introduced; the method of securing nasogastric tubes has been improved to reduce nasal mucosal injury; integrated physician–nurse ward rounds are performed; and MDT management involving physicians, nurses and rehabilitation therapists is provided for patients with acute cerebral infarction. The department has repeatedly been recognized as an advanced collective in nursing quality and as a department providing high-quality nursing services. Head nurse Huang Xiaoqiong received the titles of "National Advanced Nursing Individual" and Dongguan's "Most Beautiful Nurse."

The Neurology Department attaches great importance to the clinical teaching of residents in standardized training. Its teaching is rigorous and standardized and is at a leading level within the city. It has trained successive batches of outstanding neurology specialty residents in standardized training, and the pass rate in the national standardized residency training examination is 100%. Attending physician Qu Jianfeng received the national title of one of the "Top 100 Good Teachers in the Eyes of Residents." Several physicians of the department representing the hospital in the teaching skills competition of Southern Medical University have won first and second prizes on multiple occasions. Several trainees have won awards in provincial and municipal professional competitions and have presented papers at national, provincial and municipal academic conferences. In 2020, Professor Chen Yangkun, director of the training base, was named one of Guangdong Province's Top Ten Excellent Supervising Physicians, and resident Lu Zhihao was named one of Guangdong Province's Top Ten Excellent Residents in Standardized Training. The graduation assessment scores of the department's trainees in standardized residency training have ranked among the top 3 in the province on multiple occasions.

In scientific research, the Neurology Department has achieved outstanding results in fields including cerebrovascular disease and cognitive impairment. It introduced the intelligent neuroimaging AccuBrain＠ cloud measurement platform and established the Dongguan key laboratory "Intelligent Brain Imaging and Brain Function Laboratory," dedicated to research on neurological diseases combined with medical engineering. In 2024, the department, together with Greater Bay Area University and Shenzhen University, successfully established the Guangdong provincial key laboratory "Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cross-disciplinary Research on Dynamical Systems and the Nervous System," with Professor Chen Yangkun serving as deputy director of the laboratory. In the past 5 years, it has obtained 1 project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientists Fund), 1 China Postdoctoral Science Foundation grant, 6 provincial/ministerial-level research projects (including 2 provincial key projects), 2 provincial medical research fund projects and 4 municipal key projects. In the past 5 years it has published more than 30 SCI papers (with the highest impact factor being 10.1) and more than 30 papers in core journals, as well as 4 papers presented orally at the Asia-Pacific Stroke Conference. The team has repeatedly received the Excellent Paper Award of the China Cerebrovascular Disease Conference, the Special Prize for papers of the Guangdong Cerebrovascular Disease Conference, and the Special Prize for Excellent Papers of the Guangdong Stroke Association, among others.

The department actively participates in international and national multicenter clinical and drug trials, including more than 10 clinical studies such as the international multicenter "Head Position Study in Ischemic Stroke," the "Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Alteplase in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke at 3–4.5 Hours," and the RESCUE-BT2 study, all completed with good quality. In the past 3 years, it has participated in several domestic and international GCP projects on neuroimmune diseases and has received research funding of more than 5 million yuan.

The Neurology Department has established the following subspecialties: cerebrovascular disease, neurointervention, epilepsy, neuroimmune and infectious diseases, Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, and cognitive impairment. Their development is described in detail below:

1. Cerebrovascular disease subspecialty

A whole-course standardized management system for acute stroke has been established, with an efficient thrombolysis green channel and thrombectomy workflow. In March 2021, the department established a 24-hour stroke specialty emergency service, one of very few in the province at present, which has significantly increased the number and efficiency of thrombolysis and thrombectomy procedures. The stroke center's level of development ranks among the forefront of the province, with comprehensive techniques and strong capacity. In 2024, the stroke center obtained Grade A in the tertiary hospital stroke center rating by the disability reduction committee (jian-can wei) of the National Health Commission, entering the national top 100 (top 6 in the province), and interventional thrombectomy entered the national top 100.

A standardized neurovascular intensive care unit (NICU) has been established, equipped with advanced equipment including central ECG monitoring, ventilators, transport ventilators, defibrillators, bedside video EEG, cerebral autoregulation monitoring, cerebral blood flow monitoring and fiberoptic bronchoscopy, and multimodal neurocritical care monitoring is performed. TCD blood flow monitoring and cerebral autoregulation function monitoring are routinely performed for patients after thrombolysis or thrombectomy, and standardized NICU protocols have been established for analgesia and sedation, the identification and management of sepsis, and intervention for delirium. The multidisciplinary team (MDT) diagnosis and treatment model of stroke units in London, United Kingdom, has been introduced; emphasis is placed on rehabilitation intervention and on the early diagnosis and early treatment of post-stroke cognitive and psychiatric disorders, significantly shortening the length of hospital stay and improving patients' quality of life. As the leader of stroke prevention and treatment in the city and relying on the Dongguan professional quality control center for neurology, the stroke center has successively assisted 18 primary hospitals in obtaining national stroke prevention and treatment center status (stroke centers of secondary hospitals), making important contributions to building the city's stroke treatment network.

The cerebrovascular disease subspecialty has launched 1 new in-hospital technology and 2 Guangdong provincial "appropriate technology" items. It focuses on research on prognosis after thrombolysis and thrombectomy, symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation, blood pressure variability, cerebral small vessel disease, and cerebral blood flow and metabolism, and has received support from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the National Health Commission and provincial key fund projects. In the past 3 years it has published more than 10 SCI papers, including 3 high-level papers in journals ranked in Zone 2 or above of the Chinese Academy of Sciences journal classification. It has participated in more than 10 GCP and IIT projects on cerebrovascular disease.

2. Neurointervention subspecialty

As one of the first units in the Dongguan area to carry out neurovascular interventional treatment, the Neurology Department of Dongguan People's Hospital has been performing neurointerventional work since 2006; the interventional team has continued to grow and the procedure volume has increased steadily. The development of the interventional team's talent structure has become increasingly well balanced, and the team, mainly composed of young and middle-aged core members, can support 3 simultaneous emergency procedures. In the past 3 years, more than 300 therapeutic neurointerventional procedures of all types have been completed each year, and the volume of neurointerventional procedures ranks among the forefront of Guangdong Province. The 90-day postoperative mortality after thrombectomy is significantly lower than the national standard, and the rate of good outcome is 62%. Quality control of the emergency green channel workflow has reduced the "DTP" time from 160 minutes to below 90 minutes. The department has received honors including "Guangdong Provincial Advanced Department in Thrombectomy" and "Guangdong Provincial Gold Medal Physician in Thrombectomy Treatment" from the Chinese Stroke Association and the Guangdong Stroke Association, "National Top 100 Advanced Department in Thrombectomy," and Excellent Department in Thrombectomy under the "National Action for Quality Improvement of Reperfusion in Acute Cerebral Infarction." In 2024, the stroke center obtained Grade A in interventional thrombectomy from the disability reduction committee (jian-can wei) of the National Health Commission (national top 100). Thrombectomy and stent angioplasty for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis/stenosis are performed, with good results obtained.

The neurointervention subspecialty has launched 2 new in-hospital technologies and 1 Guangdong provincial "appropriate technology" item. It focuses on research on prognosis after interventional thrombectomy and on complications after carotid artery stenting. In the past 3 years it has published 5 SCI papers, including 1 high-level paper in a journal ranked in Zone 1 of the Chinese Academy of Sciences journal classification, and has held national-level and provincial-level continuing education programs.

3. Epilepsy subspecialty

The epilepsy center obtained Level 2 epilepsy center certification from the China Anti-Epilepsy Association in 2021 and passed the re-review of its Level 2 epilepsy center in 2024. It has a well-developed neuroelectrophysiology center with equipment including video EEG, transcranial Doppler, electromyography and evoked potentials. The epilepsy specialty clinic (3 times per week, with an annual outpatient volume of 7,000 visits) provides comprehensive epilepsy evaluation, including long-term video EEG monitoring (10 units), CT, MRI and PET-CT. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) services for epilepsy are provided, giving full play to the advantages of the epilepsy center by integrating neurosurgery, pediatrics, radiology and other disciplines to provide multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment recommendations for the standardized management of epilepsy. The epilepsy subspecialty has strengthened personnel training: 6 physicians have obtained intermediate-level EEG certificates and 10 physicians have completed the "Galaxy Project" (Yinhe Jihua) specialist physician training of the China Anti-Epilepsy Association. In collaboration with the neurosurgery department, vagus nerve stimulation is performed for the treatment of epilepsy, and treatments including the ketogenic diet and rTMS are provided.

4. Parkinson's disease and movement disorders subspecialty

The department has opened the first Parkinson's disease and movement disorders clinic in Dongguan (with an annual outpatient volume of more than 1,000 visits) and provides whole-course management for patients with Parkinson's disease. About 200 patients with Parkinson's disease and movement disorders are admitted each year. A diagnostic and treatment workflow for newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease has been established; in accordance with the quality control standards of the National Health Commission, unified Parkinson's disease rating scales, neuropsychological assessment, quantitative brain MRI volumetry, substantia nigra ultrasound, PET and other examinations are performed for patients with Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, and the quality of care for Parkinson's disease as a specialty meets the disease-specific quality control standards of the National Health Commission. Subspecialty techniques including the levodopa challenge test, programming after deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, wearable gait assessment and botulinum toxin injection therapy are carried out. In the past 5 years, this subspecialty has diagnosed and treated difficult and rare movement disorders including multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, primary progressive freezing gait, chorea-acanthocytosis, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease with GBA gene mutation, and paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD).

In 2021, through close cooperation between the neurosurgery and neurology teams of our hospital, the first deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for a patient with Parkinson's disease in Dongguan was successfully performed, filling the technical gap in DBS for Parkinson's disease in the Dongguan area. To date, a total of 25 DBS surgeries have been performed in our hospital, all of them successful, and 69 sessions of programming treatment have been carried out; all patients have shown significant improvement in quality of life compared with before surgery.

Rehabilitation treatment for Parkinson's disease and movement disorders is actively provided. In collaboration with the rehabilitation department, gait training and rehabilitation for speech and swallowing disorders in Parkinson's disease are provided, and the "integrated clinical–rehabilitation diagnosis and treatment model for Parkinson's disease within a medical consortium" established with Dongguan Rehabilitation Hospital is operating well. The subspecialty has formed a diagnostic and treatment orientation with gait disorders in Parkinson's disease, cognitive and psychiatric disorders, autonomic dysfunction and DBS treatment as its main features.

The neurology department has launched 2 new in-hospital technologies, and has established a Parkinson's disease disease-specific database in cooperation with the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, focusing on clinical and imaging research on gait disorders and cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. In the past 3 years it has published 2 SCI papers and has held a provincial-level continuing education program. It participates in 1 GCP project on Parkinson's disease.

5. Cognitive impairment subspecialty

The cognitive center is the only national advanced cognitive center unit under construction in the city and has opened a memory disorders clinic (5 times per week, with about 2,000 outpatient visits per year). It standardizes the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive disorders (about 300 patients with cognitive disorders are admitted each year) and provides neuropsychological assessment, quantitative brain MRI volumetry, measurement of Aβ and tau protein in cerebrospinal fluid (or serum), APOE gene polymorphism testing and FDG-PET for patients with cognitive impairment. In collaboration with the nuclear medicine department, Aβ-PET examination is performed, and the first use in Dongguan of anti-amyloid treatment with donanemab for Alzheimer's disease has been carried out. The department attaches importance to the identification and treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurological diseases, with particular emphasis on the identification and comprehensive treatment of vascular cognitive impairment.

Geriatric nursing and cognitive rehabilitation clinics have been opened to provide home-based cognitive training and care guidance for patients with cognitive disorders. Neuropsychological assessment (more than 20 neuropsychological and cognitive scales are administered) and cognitive rehabilitation therapy (multiple cognitive rehabilitation treatments are provided) are carried out, and a digital cognitive and language training system has been introduced.

As the guiding unit for the pilot work on Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment in Dongguan, the advanced cognitive center of Dongguan People's Hospital, under the leadership of the Dongguan Municipal Health Bureau, actively assists and cooperates in planning the construction of the Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment system. Professor Chen Yangkun, director of the neurology discipline, as chairman of the Dongguan Alzheimer's Disease Prevention and Treatment Technical Committee, has conducted training for the Dongguan Alzheimer's Disease Promotion Action in the city and in each town, making important contributions to the city's achievement this year of 100% screening of residents aged 65 and above. As a national cognitive center construction unit and guiding unit, Dongguan People's Hospital has assisted Huangjiang, Chashan and other towns in establishing an integrated management system for Alzheimer's disease prevention and treatment.

The cognitive impairment subspecialty has obtained 1 provincial key fund project (which has passed acceptance review) and has published more than 10 SCI papers in the field of cognitive impairment. It participates in 2 multicenter GCP and clinical studies on cognitive impairment. More than 10 science popularization works have received awards in provincial and municipal science popularization competitions. 1 translated book has been published with the department's staff as chief translator, 1 cognitive impairment work manual has been compiled as chief editor, and the subspecialty has participated in the development of 2 provincial guidelines.

6. Neuroinfection and neuroimmune subspecialty

A neuroimmune and demyelinating disease clinic has been opened, 4 times per week, with about 1,000 patient visits per year. Central nervous system infections and neuroimmune diseases are diagnosed and treated by multiple means, including next-generation sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid, testing of antibodies related to neuroimmune diseases, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spinal cord, and functional assessment. Disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis is provided. Multidisciplinary team diagnosis and treatment services for neuroimmune diseases are provided. In the past 3 years, the subspecialty has participated in 6 drug clinical trials on multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica and myasthenia gravis, including 2 international multicenter trials; the enrollment numbers all ranked among the national top 3 (with 3 of them ranking first in the country), and research funding of more than 5 million yuan was obtained. Biobanks (including blood and cerebrospinal fluid) have been established for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and autoimmune encephalitis.