Department of Endocrinology @ Policlinico San Donato
The Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Department at Policlinico San Donato consists of two Outpatient services Units: The Diabetes and Metabolism Unit, and the Endocrinology Unit, in addition to the two Inpatient wards: The Endocrinology ward, and the Nutritional Rehabilitation ward.
The Department is led by Professor Livio Luzi, and three dedicated Supervisors coordinate clinical activities within each Medical Area (Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Nutrition). A total of four Endocrinologists, one Diabetologist, one Internal Medicine Specialist, one Dietician, and two Nutritional Biologists work in the team. Eleven nurses (1 Research Nurse and 10 Clinical nurses) collaborate in the inpatient and outpatient clinics.
The Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Department offers clinical services to patients affected by diabetes (type 1 and type 2), obesity, thyroid diseases (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer), parathyroid disorders, adrenal glands disorders, osteoporosis, pituitary gland disorders and hypogonadism.
A Research group led by Professor Livio Luzi, is also part of the Department, running cutting-edge research projects on innovative obesity treatment such as Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, diabetes, cardiovascular complications and thyroid disorders.
Our excellence in numbers
Conditions we take care of at this Department
Notable advanced technological equipment
- BOD POD Body Composition System (Cosmed, Italy): air displacement plethysmography, analyses body composition in terms of fat and lean mass.
- Indirect calorimeter (QuarkRMR Cosmed, Italy): it is used to measure the resting energy expenditure through the calculation of the respiratory quotient.
- Infrared camera (Avio model R500Ex-Pro thermal imaging camera): infrared thermography is used to analyse abdominal skin, fingernail-bed hand and interscapular skin temperature in patients with obesity enrolled in our experimental protocol (Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).
- Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulator: innovative and non-invasive neuromodulation technology (dopaminergic system) to treat obesity through the use of an external helmet.
Meet our team
Head physician
Alexis Elias Malavazos
The Policlinico San Donato Research Hospital is the largest and most renowned Italian center specialized in the field of cardiovascular treatments. The hospital is accredited by the Italian National Health Service (SSN) and is home to the Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery, in collaboration with the Università degli Studi di Milano.
Founded in 1969 and extending over 50,000 square meters in the south-eastern part of Milan, the multi-specialty healthcare institution is a leader in Italy and among best centers in Europe as for the amount as well as for the complexity of performed cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures in children (>1,000 procedures per year) and adult patients (>1,000 surgical interventions and 6,000 interventional cardiology procedures). The San Donato’s Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology Unit delivers one of the highest numbers of cardiac ablations in the world (>1,400 per year). San Donato has a research center aimed at studying of the heart and blood vessels in adults and children and searching of new prevention and treatment methods that has been recognized by the Italian Ministry of Health as a Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Health Care (IRCCS).
San Donato is a pioneer of international cooperation and a founder of charity missions for the treatment of children with congenital heart diseases that are run in collaboration with the association “Bambini Cardiopatici nel Mondo”. Thanks to this project more than 3,000 children all over the world have received their treatment.
Since 2019, Policlinico San Donato has become home to the National Institute for Obesity Cure (INCO), a national reference center with a multidisciplinary approach for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity. Thanks to the INCO, dietary, psycho-behavioral and surgical treatments are carried out together with the most innovative video-assisted laparoscopic and mini-invasive techniques.
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