Research

Together with Haematology, Neurology represents Policlinico’s number one department in terms of Impact Factor and the intensity of clinical and pre-clinical research activity. Among the leading research topics in this area are Alzheimer disease and degenerative and neuromuscular diseases, including congenital and acquired syndromes.

Policlinico’s clinical research and applications in haemophilia, thrombosis and coagulation diseases make it the primary Italian centre for research and therapy in this field which spans many disciplines.

Policlinico’s Impact Factor in this area is among one of the highest worldwide, especially in the field of antiviral therapy for hepatitis B and C, hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension related to liver transplant activities.

Policlinico’s Occupational Medicine Department has progressively developed excellent lines of research in the field of tumour prevention (especially mesothelioma) as well as the field of atmospheric pollution, one of the main health concerns in Italy, particularly in the Po Valley.

Policlinico, with 13.000 cases included in the regional rare disease registry, is caring for a greater number of patients with rare disease (a third of the entire Region) than any other institution and covers more than 300 pathologies. These numbers have led to Policlinico being recognised as the clinical and research reference point for the entire country.

The De Marchi Clinic of Policlinico, one of the oldest and most prestigious Pediatric units in the country, has developed a programme for children with chronic disease to ease their transition into adulthood by establishing connections with the departments that treat the same diseases in adults. A typical example of this is cystic fibrosis, one of the most common hereditary diseases. Our research on childhood infective diseases is also relevant, both in terms of primary prevention (vaccination) and therapy. The prevention of adult degenerative diseases via optimized nutrition in the premature baby, infant and child is the focus of research in the field of child clinical nutrition.

The Mangiagalli clinic is well known and popular among the local community. It’s clinical activities (the highest number of births per year among any clinic in Italy) are supported by excellent research activity in the field of assisted fertilization and innovative surgical techniques for intrauterine correction of foetal malformations. The Researcher in Mangiagalli studying endometriosis is, on the basis of objective criteria, considered the world’s greatest expert in the field.

Policlinico, having created and developed the ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) methodology, was the first, and remains the primary, Italian centre to use this treatment in clinical practice and incorporate it into medical education training. Even more recently, the hospital performed its first transplants of lungs with reconditioned organs.

Our Via Pace clinic, with it’s unique and renowned history, remains the nation’s centre of reference for both clinical activity and research involving skin diseases and cutaneous lymphomas.