Neurology

The Department of Neurology of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was established in 1994.

(I) Department Overview

The Department of Neurology of Shuguang Hospital is a National Advanced Stroke Center, a hospital designated as a National Health Commission base for screening and prevention of cerebrovascular disease, a Shanghai Clinical Stroke Treatment Center, a Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Specialty of Excellence, a Shanghai Key TCM Specialty Cultivation Unit, and a clinical pharmacology base for TCM neurology designated by the National Medical Products Administration.

The department has 16 members: 6 senior professionals, 7 associate senior professionals, 2 attending physicians, and 1 resident physician; 10 hold doctoral degrees and 6 hold master's degrees. There is 1 doctoral supervisor and 7 master's supervisors.

Professor Cai Dingfang is a Qihuang Scholar, an Outstanding Clinical TCM Talent of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a Famous TCM Physician of Shanghai, a Shanghai Leading Talent, and a mentor for the inheritance of Shanghai-style TCM schools. Chief Physician Liu Dezhi conducted visiting study at the University of California, Los Angeles, and received a nomination award for the third “Benevolent Heart, Healing Hands · Shanghai Outstanding Specialist Physician Award.” Chief Physician Pan Weidong studied at the University of Tokyo in Japan and is a Shanghai Pujiang Scholar. Chief Physician Qin Baofeng is a senior TCM physician at Shuguang Hospital and an inheritor of the academic experience of the sixth batch of national senior TCM experts. Associate Chief Physician Sun Yan is an inheritor of the Shanghai-style TCM school tradition. Associate Chief Physicians Sun Yan and Tang Haiyan respectively participated in training for Chinese clinical neurologists in Melbourne, Australia.

The department undertakes research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, Shanghai Shenkang, and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, as well as talent-development programs including the National Backbone Program for TCM Innovation, the inheritance program for the academic experience of senior national TCM experts, Shanghai Pujiang Talents, Shanghai high-level TCM talents, Shanghai integrated Chinese and Western medicine talents, and the inheritance program for Shanghai-style TCM schools.

Department physicians hold positions such as chairpersons, vice chairpersons, standing committee members, committee members, executive directors, and directors in 25 national and Shanghai societies and associations. As the first completing institution, the department has received awards including the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, the Chinese Medicine Award, the Shanghai Medical Award, the Shanghai Science and Technology Award for Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, and the Shanghai TCM Science and Technology Progress Award.

(II) Medical Strengths

The Department of Neurology has 43 beds (32 in the East Hospital and 11 in the West Hospital), including 5 NICU beds. A specialized neurological emergency service is available. Inpatients mainly have acute cerebrovascular disease; the department also treats various conditions including encephalitis, peripheral neuropathy, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroimmune diseases, and hereditary metabolic diseases, providing a broad range of treatment. Outpatient services include stroke screening and stroke follow-up clinics, standardizing chronic disease prevention and management for stroke. The emergency department has opened a green channel for stroke treatment and provides intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular intervention for acute cerebral infarction, improving treatment efficiency for patients with acute cerebral infarction. Elective vascular intervention, combined with Western medicines and TCM interventions, provides stroke patients with more appropriate individualized treatment.

The Department of Neurology uses the integrated advantages of “outpatient clinic–emergency department–ICU–ward,” continuously improving care pathways for patients with different neurological conditions, while emphasizing emergency diagnostic and treatment safety and the management of critically ill patients. As a result, emergency visits, inpatient numbers, and outpatient volume have steadily increased. Through continuous optimization, the department’s specialized medical service capacity has continued to improve, and a complete treatment pathway has been established, covering the entire course from admission of emergency patients and neurological intensive care to early rehabilitation and TCM intervention, significantly improving treatment outcomes.

(III) Specialized Technologies

The department focuses on the integrated Chinese and Western medical diagnosis and treatment of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease, dementia, and other diseases, while also conducting in-depth research on stroke, motor neuron disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

To improve treatment outcomes and medication convenience for patients with stroke, our hospital’s self-prepared preparation—Qilong Quyu Mixture—has been widely used in the clinical treatment of stroke and has achieved good efficacy.

The Department of Neurology has introduced a series of new technologies for clinical use. In stroke treatment, the department standardizes procedures for intravenous thrombolysis and arterial thrombectomy and performs both treatments. For patients without indications for thrombolysis or thrombectomy, individualized treatment is implemented according to the time of onset, clinical manifestations, and etiology and pathology, with classification by type and stage. This reflects the TCM holistic concept and pattern-based treatment, emphasizes early rehabilitation, and combines medicinal-stick tapping, acupuncture, and other therapies. Multiple therapies are combined, medications act synergistically, and treatments are administered sequentially, achieving relatively good results. In the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, the department has proposed that the treatment principle is to tonify the kidneys and nourish the liver, and has used an accelerometer to objectively record changes in patients’ day-and-night physical movement data, achieving good observational results. In the treatment of motor neuron disease, the department has proposed that the treatment principle is to tonify the kidneys and strengthen the spleen, achieving certain efficacy in improving symptoms. A memory-disorder clinic has been established; through dementia-scale assessment and flexible application of TCM methods, it provides patients with memory problems with integrated Chinese and Western medical treatment plans.

(IV) Subspecialty Development Directions

The Department of Neurology has established subspecialty and disease-specific clinics for stroke screening, stroke follow-up, vascular intervention, Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease, and memory disorders.

Stroke subspecialty: Stroke screening, stroke follow-up, and vascular intervention clinics are provided. TCM/integrated Chinese and Western medicine methods are used to prevent and treat acute cerebrovascular disease and post-stroke sequelae.

Parkinson’s disease subspecialty: On the basis of standardized modern medical treatment, TCM/integrated Chinese and Western medical methods are combined, achieving good clinical efficacy in delaying progression of Parkinson’s disease and improving patients’ non-motor symptoms.

Motor neuron disease subspecialty: The advantages of TCM and Chinese medicines are utilized, and treatment methods such as tonifying the kidneys and strengthening the spleen are adopted, achieving results in extending patients’ survival and improving their quality of life.

Cognitive-disorder subspecialty: Integrated Chinese and Western medicine methods are used to treat cognitive impairment and vascular cognitive impairment, achieving satisfactory efficacy.