Introduction

The Department of Geriatrics, which was founded on April 30, 1992, has steadily progressed over the past three decades to emerge as a leading geriatric department in Shanghai. With 456 authorized beds, currently occupying 246, it offers comprehensive medical services. The inpatient department caters exclusively to designated healthcare patients, providing them with specialized diagnosis and treatment. Meanwhile, the outpatient clinic welcomes all patients, ensuring accessibility to all.

Boasting a team of 43 exceptionally skilled professionals, including 5 chief physicians, 12 associate chief physicians, 21 attending physicians, and 5 resident physicians, the department excels in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research of geriatric diseases. Its comprehensive approach and expertise are particularly evident in managing complex and critical cases among the old adults.

Furthermore, the department's academic prowess is reflected in its 1 doctoral supervisors and 3 Master supervisors, who have spearheaded several projects funded by prestigious organizations like the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Significantly, the Geriatrics Department has also taken a pioneering role in registering as a clinical trial base in Shanghai, actively participating in international multicenter drug clinical trials, further solidifying its position at the forefront of geriatric medicine.

Specialty

The Department of Geriatrics is committed to diagnosing and treating prominent clinical issues related to the old adults as its professional specialty. It focuses on the development of geriatrics and anti-aging as its leading research directions, with emphasis on three advantageous disciplinary project teams: "geriatric cognitive impairment," "geriatric cardiovascular disease," and " geriatric nutrition and metabolic diseases." 

Geriatric cognitive impairment 

The cognitive impairment diagnosis and treatment platform boasts an 80-square-meter neuropsychological assessment room and a 60-square-meter cognitive rehabilitation room. It is one of the "Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Centers" affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is among China’s batch of core advanced cognitive impairment diagnosis and treatment centers. Over the past five years, it has completed more than 6,000 participants’ neuropsychological tests, of which over 1,000 cases have undergone Aβ-PET and tau-PET examination. The platform has participated in five international multicenter phase 3 clinical trials, published more than 60 SCI papers (including 7 with an impact factor >10), and presided over the compilation of two Chinese expert consensuses. It has established deep cooperative relationships with many renowned research teams, such as the Brain-inspired Intelligence Research Institute of Fudan University, the Institue of Materia Medica Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Huashan PET Center, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and University of Cologne in Germany.

Geriatric cardiovascular disease

Members of the geriatric cardiovascular team have extensive experience in diagnosing and treating geriatric cardiovascular diseases, particularly in managing geriatric coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, various arrhythmias, and cardiovascular emergencies. They possess unique expertise in treating critically ill geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities, especially those of aged old adults. This team has also established a specialized geriatric cardiovascular clinic. Over time, they have developed research strengths and distinctive areas of expertise such as "geriatric hypertension," "geriatric arrhythmias," and "vascular aging in old adults."

Geriatric nutrition and metabolic diseases

The team is dedicated to conducting in-depth research on the nutritional needs and metabolic characteristics, providing scientific and personalized nutritional support and treatment plans for geriatric patients. They emphasize individualized treatment, tailoring precise nutritional management plans based on each patient's specific conditions, such as age, disease status, and dietary habits. In recent years, they focused on clinical and basic research on sarcopenia in old adults, conducted early diagnosis and assessment of sarcopenia, and accumulated rich experience in treatment aspects such as resistance exercise therapy and nutritional intervention. The team systematically studied the influencing factors of sarcopenia in old adults, established a diagnostic system for sarcopenia based on chest CT scans, and utilized wearable devices and artificial intelligence technology to conduct in-depth research on the pathological characteristics of sarcopenia from the perspectives of gait and muscle biomechanics.