Neurology

The Department of Neurology of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University is the birthplace of the neurology specialty in Shandong Province and one of the medical teaching and research units with the longest history in the domestic neurology field; it was founded in 1958 by Professor Zhu Hanying, Professor Gao Yan and Professor Li Danian; in 1978 it was approved by the State Council as one of the first batch of units authorized to confer master's degrees; in 2006 it was approved as a unit authorized to confer doctoral degrees; in 2010 the Department of Neurology was selected into the third phase key disciplines of the 985 Project of Shandong University; in 2013 it was selected as a National Clinical Key Specialty. At present it has 1 vice-chairman of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, 1 recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Fund, 1 recipient of the National Outstanding Young Physician award, 3 distinguished experts of the Taishan Scholars Program, 5 young experts of the Taishan Scholars Program, 8 academic-type and professional-type doctoral supervisors, and 16 master's degree supervisors. To date it has trained more than 100 doctoral students and more than 300 master's students; each year it trains more than 50 refresher physicians and more than 400 resident physicians in standardized training.

Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, the Department of Neurology has gradually formed a number of distinctive clinical sub-specialties, including the epilepsy and EEG electrophysiology specialty group, the neuromuscular disease and inherited metabolic disease specialty group, the cerebrovascular disease specialty group, the Parkinson's disease and movement disorder specialty group, the neuroinfection and immunology specialty group, the cognitive disorder specialty group, the psychosomatic medicine specialty group, and the headache and dizziness specialty group. In recent years many professors have held positions in national professional academic organizations. Among them, Professor Yan Chuanzhu currently serves as vice-chairman of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and head of the neuromuscular disease group; Professor Chi Zhaofu formerly served as a standing committee member of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and head of the epilepsy group.

The epilepsy and EEG electrophysiology specialty group is one of the specialized directions with distinctive advantages of the Department of Neurology of Qilu Hospital and is one of the earliest units in China to carry out epilepsy research. In 1959 our department took the lead in establishing an EEG room in Shandong Province, which marked the formal beginning of electrophysiological examination in the neurology department. In 1986 a specialized epilepsy clinic was opened. Over the years, under the leadership of Professor Chi Zhaofu, this group has done a great deal of work in both clinical and basic research on epilepsy and has consistently been in a leading position in China. The department is equipped with advanced digital video EEG machines and video EEG monitoring instruments and, together with the functional neurosurgery department of our hospital, took an early lead in China in carrying out preoperative evaluation of medically refractory epilepsy combined with stereotactic EEG technology and other methods. Related research has received project funding from a number of National Natural Science Foundation projects, provincial science and technology key programs, provincial natural science funds, provincial science and technology department funds and provincial health department funds, and the research results have successively won several second and third prizes for scientific and technological progress in Shandong Province. This specialty group has held many training courses on new epilepsy techniques, epilepsy patient support meetings, epilepsy free clinics and a large amount of popular science work, and is widely praised by peers and patients.

The neuromuscular disease and inherited metabolic disease specialty group is one of the advantageous disciplines of the Department of Neurology with rapid development and remarkable achievements. In 1985 Professor Li Danian established the first and only neuropathology laboratory in Shandong Province and carried out biopsies of brain tissue, peripheral nerve and muscle tissue. In 2013 the Institute of Neuromuscular and Degenerative Diseases of Shandong University and the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Rare Diseases of the Nervous System of the Medical and Health System were established. By 2018, under the leadership of Professor Yan Chuanzhu, the team had collected more than 4,000 muscle and nerve biopsy specimens and discovered that lipid storage myopathy in the Chinese population is caused by mutations in the electron-transferring flavoprotein dehydrogenase (ETFDH) gene, with a definite therapeutic effect of vitamin B2 alone; this finding attracted great international attention. In recent years this field has undertaken 4 general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, 5 youth fund projects, and 1 clinical key project of hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health. More than 100 related papers have been published in total. Since 2011 this specialty group has held, for many consecutive years, the Training Course on Peripheral Nerve and Muscle Biopsy Pathology Techniques and Pathological Diagnosis; in 2013 it was awarded the first batch of Demonstration Centers for Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment Training and Education of Peripheral Neuropathy by the Neuromuscular Disease Group and the Electromyography and Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology Group of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; in 2016 it was approved as the National Training Center for Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuromuscular Diseases and successfully held the first national training course on pathological diagnosis of neuromuscular biopsy.

The cerebrovascular disease specialty group is one of the specialized directions of the Department of Neurology of Qilu Hospital that are developed as priorities and have distinctive strength; it is a stroke screening and prevention base of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, an advanced stroke center of the National Stroke Prevention Commission, a comprehensive stroke center of the Chinese Stroke Association, a regional training and quality control center of the Chinese Stroke Association and a regional training and quality control demonstration center for neurointervention in China, and the chairman unit of the Shandong Stroke Association. In 1980 the Department of Neurology took the lead in establishing a cerebrovascular disease research institute in Shandong Province and carried out a large amount of in-depth and meticulous clinical research work. In 2004, with the establishment of the cerebrovascular disease department, under the leadership of Director Wang Cuilan, this specialty group devoted itself to the innovation of new techniques for cerebrovascular disease treatment, standardized stratified and graded treatment, and organizational management of stroke. In 2012 it became one of the first 26 stroke screening and prevention bases in China. At the end of 2012, after the cerebrovascular disease department was merged into the Department of Neurology, a scientific and effective multidisciplinary stroke cooperation organizational structure was established, forming an integrated stroke prevention and control system with the cerebrovascular disease specialty groups of neurology and neurosurgery as the main body, including the radiology department, interventional department, rehabilitation department and emergency department, and working in close collaboration with related departments such as cardiology and endocrinology. The cerebrovascular intervention team led by Professor Wu Wei took an early lead in carrying out endovascular treatment techniques for cerebrovascular diseases in the field of neurology and has proficiently carried out intracranial and extracranial arterial stent placement for ischemic cerebrovascular disease, intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke, stent placement for intracranial venous sinus stenosis, interventional treatment of intracranial venous sinus thrombosis, and recanalization of chronic cerebral artery occlusion. The annual volume of interventional procedures is 800 to 900 cases, and perioperative complications are controlled at around 1 to 2 percent, at a leading level within the province and an advanced level within China. This specialty group attaches importance to the construction of the green channel for stroke emergency care, continuously optimizes the procedures of intravenous thrombolysis and arterial thrombectomy for acute stroke, and emphasizes moving the threshold of stroke prevention and treatment forward and the construction of the emergency network. It also has a standardized stroke screening and secondary prevention clinic, as well as an independent cerebrovascular disease ward and NICU ward. This specialty group has undertaken a number of national and provincial continuing education projects of the Health and Family Planning Commission as well as a number of clinical studies and drug trials; its related research has received project funding from a number of National Natural Science Foundation projects, provincial science and technology key programs, provincial natural science funds and provincial health department funds, and it has participated in a number of national 12th Five-Year and 13th Five-Year science and technology support programs.

The Parkinson's disease and movement disorder specialty group has developed rapidly in recent years. In 1999 the Department of Neurology took the lead in carrying out botulinum toxin treatment for movement disorders such as hemifacial spasm and spasmodic torticollis. In 2004 it began to focus on clinical and basic research on Parkinson's disease and movement disorders. In 2006 the neurology and neurosurgery departments cooperated to complete the first deep brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson's disease in Shandong Province. Since 2008, Professor Liu Yiming, as a member of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Group of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, has participated in the writing of a number of guidelines and consensus statements on the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, and the team has participated in 4 international multicenter clinical studies and a number of domestic clinical studies related to Parkinson's disease and movement disorders. In 2016 it obtained the 13th Five-Year National Key Research and Development Program sub-project Establishment of a Technical Support System for Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease in Shandong Province, which improved the level of diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease in Shandong Province. This specialty group has presided over 4 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 3 provincial funds, 2 national 13th Five-Year sub-projects, and won 1 third prize for scientific and technological achievements of the Provincial Science and Technology Department.

The cognitive disorder specialty group was established in the 1990s and has conducted in-depth research on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and leukoaraiosis; it has obtained 1 WHO research grant, 1 National Natural Science Foundation project and 6 provincial and ministerial research projects, won 1 second prize and 2 third prizes for scientific and technological progress of Shandong Province, published more than 80 papers, including 11 SCI papers, obtained 1 national invention patent and published 1 monograph Practical Dementia, and participated in a number of domestic and international clinical drug trials.

The neuroinfection and immunology specialty group was established in 1985 by the Department of Neurology of Qilu Hospital, taking the lead within Shandong Province, and subsequently took the lead in the province in developing and perfecting cerebrospinal fluid cytology examination techniques, vertical electrophoresis for detecting oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid, cerebrospinal fluid lactate testing, and isoelectric focusing for detecting oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid. In the past 5 years this specialty group has perfected the diagnostic and treatment pathways for neuroimmune diseases and intracranial infections. It has established a complete myasthenia gravis research system and clinical cohort and carried out research on clinical assessment tools for myasthenia gravis and on factors influencing pre-test antibody indicators, genetic susceptibility, clinical and immunological phenotypes and biomarkers. It carries out autoantibody testing and research on molecular immunological pathological mechanisms for inflammatory myopathies, autoimmune encephalitis and inflammatory demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. A sample bank for related diseases has been established. In the past 5 years this specialty group has published nearly 20 SCI papers, including papers in renowned journals such as Lancet Neurology, BMJ and Neurology, and has undertaken 2 National Natural Science Foundation projects.

The psychosomatic medicine specialty group closely links neuroscience with psychology and psychiatry, focuses on the development of the biopsychosocial medical model in the field of neurology, and has accumulated rich experience in the diagnosis and treatment of functional diseases of the nervous system such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and somatization disorders.

The headache and dizziness specialty group started early nationwide and has developed the pure Chinese herbal preparation Jingtongling Capsules for the treatment of tension-type headache and migraine. It also took the lead in the field of neurology in our province in carrying out research on dizziness and video nystagmography. It participated in the formulation of the Chinese Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Migraine, the Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Vestibular Migraine (2018) and others.

The Department of Neurology of Qilu Hospital also has clinical auxiliary examination laboratories such as the cerebrospinal fluid laboratory, electromyography room, EEG room, cerebral blood flow imaging room, neuromuscular pathology laboratory, transcranial magnetic stimulation room, neuropsychological cognitive assessment room and electronystagmography room.