At PM 4, September 13, 2018, Professor Liu Zhao from the Children's Hospital of Illinois came to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University for academic exchange at the invitation of Liu Xiaohong, Director of Pediatrics Department, attracting 40 directors and physicians from relevant departments to take part in the academic exchange.
Professor Liu Zhao is Director of Department of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Treatment Center of Children’s Hospital affiliated to College of Medicine, University of Illinois, and received his Ph.D. in neurobiology from theUniversity of Strasbourg, France. He has successively made post-doctoral research in Montreal Neurological Institute, Canada and Children’s Hospital affiliated to Harvard Medical School for 7 years. He once served as Director of the Outpatient Division of Department of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Treatment Center of the University of Florida. Professor Liu has high attainments in both basic research and clinical work, has made in-depth research on the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric epilepsy syndrome, preoperative evaluation of surgery of pediatric refractory epilepsy, epileptogenesis and pathogenesis, neuroprotective mechanism in epilepsy-induced cerebral injury, and efficacy of marijuana for refractory epilepsy syndrome, and has published more than 50 SCI papers and compiled 2 textbooks.
In this academic exchange, Professor Liu made an academic report entitledNeurostimulation for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, and elaborated the theoretical basis, common methods, indications and latest clinical research results of neuromodulation therapy. Combined with his many years of clinical experiences, reflecting a high sense of responsibility and mission to the patients and the true connotation of “all for the patients”, Director Liu Xiaohong pointed out that there were a huge number of epilepsy patients in China, accounting for 1/10 of the global population, and 2/3 cases are children or start the onset in childhood. At present, they were still facing many challenges in the treatment of children with epilepsy. What's worse, the therapeutic effect for 1/3 children with epilepsy is still unsatisfactory. The therapy requires the physicians from the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Neurosurgery Department, Neurology Department and Ultrasound Imaging Department to cooperate with each other, make full evaluation and select the optimal treatment protocol, thus achieving the best therapeutic effect and benefiting the patients.
This academic exchange activity has greatly broadened the horizon of the physicians from the specialties related to epilepsy and everyone has learned a lot from it. It is helpful for promoting the clinical and academic development of epilepsy-related departments in the hospital. Furthermore, it has built a platform for the “Epilepsy Treatment Center” to be established in the hospital and laid a solid foundation for our future exchanges and cooperation with the Children's Hospital of Illinois, such as “remote consultation”.
