Professor Chen Shunle (right) and Professor Huang Mingxin
Today (January 23) morning, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine affiliated to Renji Hospital news: one of the founders of rheumatology in China, a famous rheumatologist, a tenured professor of Renji Hospital, and the honorary director of the Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, Professor Chen Shunle, died at the age of 89 at 0:30 on January 23, 2021 due to ineffective medical treatment.
Chen Shunle was born in February 1932, chief physician, professor, doctoral supervisor, director of Shanghai Rheumatology Clinical Medicine Center, honorary director of Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, tenured professor of Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, director of rheumatism and immunology (Shanghai) of national drug clinical research base, honorary member of the Australian Society of Rheumatology, editorial board member of "LUPUS" and "Clinical Rheumatology" and other English-language magazines. He once served as the vice chairman of the Rheumatology Society of the Chinese Medical Association, the vice president of the Shanghai Medical Association, the chairman of the Rheumatology Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association, the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Rheumatology Alliance, the editor-in-chief of the famous American rheumatology magazine "Arthritis & Rheumatism" (Chinese Edition), and the executive deputy editor of "Shanghai Medicine".
Professor Chen Shunle is the founder of the Department of Rheumatology and the Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology of Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, presided over the establishment of the largest core family genetic database of lupus in China, and founded the PMC low-dose immunosuppressant combination therapy, which improves the efficacy and reduces side effects. His team worked with obstetrics and gynecology to break down fertility taboos, making lupus patients mothers no longer a luxury.
His systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) research project has won the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award for many times, and won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2009, published 1 SLE monograph and 1 national medical postgraduate planning textbook of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" of the Ministry of Health.
Professor Chen Shunle pays attention to talent training, and has hosted many academic conferences at home and abroad, especially the successful holding of the "8th International Lupus Erythematosus Conference", which has established the academic status of the Rheumatology Department of Renji Hospital in the field of international lupus erythematosus research, and also promoted the development of rheumatology in China and even the entire Asia-Pacific region, bringing hope to the majority of lupus patients.
Professor Chen Shunle has been praised by international colleagues as the "Father of Lupus in China", and has won many honors such as the Master title of the American Academy of Rheumatology, the Master Award of the Asia-Pacific Rheumatology Alliance, the "Outstanding Contribution Award" of the Chinese Society of Rheumatology, the Advanced Worker of the Ministry of Health, the Honorary Title of Shanghai Model Worker, the Shanghai Yucai Award, the Shanghai Top Ten Worker Inventors and the Title of Shanghai Top Ten Workers Scientific and Technological Innovation Talents, and enjoys the special allowance of the State Council.
Professor Chen Shunle has touched the hearts of future generations for thousands of years, and Li Jia, a rheumatologist at Renji Hospital, wrote an article recalling:
Raise a long arrow and shoot the wolf
We mourn the memory of Professor Chen Shunle, a famous rheumatologist in China
He is the pioneer of Renji rheumatism
He is the guide of rheumatism in China
He is the world-renowned ACR Master, the APLAR Master
He is the "Father of SLE" in China
He presided over the development of China's first SLE diagnostic standard
He formed the rheumatology department's earliest MDT
He built the rheumatology department's earliest database
He led the earliest genetic discoveries in the rheumatology family
He established the country's first rheumatology institute
The first "Lupus Health Club"...
When they met, he was an elder who always smiled and shook hands
When confused, he is a teacher who is often carefully instructed
When sick, he is always a trusted doctor
He is a pioneer, a builder, a nurturer
He was a lifelong devotee
Worried about the old father of Renji rheumatism
“healthy，competition，pretty”
It is his benevolence in the world
The biggest dream
From "Clone Selection" to Renji Rheumatism
On the huangpu riverside, No. 145 Shandong Middle Road, the original site of Renji Hospital, there is a small brick red building that has experienced more than 80 years of wind and rain, where Chen Shunle has worked for half a century. Even in the last days of his life, he was still worried about the future of Renji Rheumatism.
Time crept back.
In the mountain-like classics on the desk of the office, Chen Shunle turned out a handwritten translation: "Autoimmune Process and The Lesions of Autoimmune Diseases", and the cover read "Chen Shunle translated in the summer of 1963". His mind once again went back to that spring 50 years ago, when Australian scholar Macfarlane Burnet creatively proposed the "clonal selection theory" and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, and the study of autoimmune diseases began in the world. Huang Mingxin and Professor Jiang Shaoji personally handed these English documents to Chen Shunle, and this 70-page pamphlet pins on the vision and ardent hope of the two medical predecessors, and also sows the seeds of Renji rheumatism.
In 1979, the Shanghai Institute of Immunology was established, with Professor Yu He, an expert in immunology, as the first director, Huang Mingxin as the second director, Jiang Shaoji as the deputy director and director of the Clinical Immunology Research Office, Chen Shunle as the deputy director and presided over the daily work. At that time, there were only 3 staff members and 8 beds.
This is the earliest rheumatology family in China.
Chen Shunle chose systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as the main direction of rheumatology, which is an autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organs in the body, with complex lesions, difficult treatment, and extremely high mortality. At that time, there was no epidemiological investigation of the incidence of SLE in China, and it was generally believed that the prevalence of lupus in Chinese was high and the condition was serious. Chen Shunle used the knowledge he learned at the University of Melbourne in Australia to establish a laboratory testing platform for autoimmune diseases, and through independent research and development, for the first time in China, he established a detection technology that can extract nuclear antigen (ENA) antibody spectrum and anticardiolipin antibodies, so that the diagnosis of SLE is evidence-based.
Subsequently, he used these techniques to conduct a large-scale epidemiological survey of 32,668 Shanghai textile workers and found that the prevalence of SLE in China was 70/100,000 and that of women was 113/100,000, according to which he deduced that there were 1 million SLE patients in China, and the disease was mainly mild to moderate. This research result was written into the textbooks of Chinese medical students, but also attracted the attention of the world, the President of the American Society of Rheumatology Professor Bevra Ham warmly invited Chen Shunle to give an academic report, and has since become a lifelong friend.
Chen Shunle found in the treatment that although high doses of hormones are beneficial to the control of the disease, they bring many side effects, and the complications caused by drugs greatly affect the quality of life of patients. After thinking and arguing, he proposed the "PMC" treatment plan, which uses small doses of hormones combined with methotrexate and chloroquine to treat mild to moderate lupus patients without visceral involvement, which has become a classic treatment plan for patients with SLE, greatly improving survival rates and allowing many patients to live and work normally.
At the same time, Chen Shunle looked around Shanghai with his eyes, he noticed that those hospitals with a single rheumatism treatment tradition, he went out of Renji, and the Xingang Lot Hospital cooperated in the study of systemic scleroderma, and Guanghua Hospital cooperated in the study of rheumatoid arthritis, he and his colleague Gu Yueying participated in the outpatient clinics, rounds and difficult case discussions of these hospitals, and also introduced the progress in the field of rheumatism abroad to these hospitals, inviting foreign experts to give special lectures and business exchanges.
These collaborations have broadened his horizons and improved the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatism in Shanghai. These places that left his footprints recorded the trajectory of the development of rheumatology in China.
Since 1982, he has been conducting rheumatology training courses in Shanghai. Since the domestic rheumatology is still in its infancy, there is no teacher, he invited experts in various fields to teach the content related to rheumatism in the field, the orthopedic professor lectures on the structure and function of the joints, the pathology professor teaches the pathological changes of connective tissue diseases, the professor of immunology teaches the autoimmunity of rheumatism, the professor of radiology teaches X-ray diagnosis, the professor of dermatology talks about rheumatism-related lesions, the professor of ophthalmology talks about the ocular manifestations of rheumatism, the professor of physiotherapy talks about the rehabilitation of arthritis... In just a few days, Huang Mingxin, Jiang Shaoji, Chen Shunle, Shi Shouyi, Chen Renbiao, Zhang Petty, Wang Yongling, Jiang Peiling, Su Lide, Guo Wenzheng, and 26 experts from more than a dozen research institutes and hospitals all appeared on the scene, opening the door to the enlightenment and popularization of rheumatology in Shanghai. Since then, rheumatology departments have been established in various hospitals.
At the same time, he has held many national study classes to promote laboratory diagnosis technology of rheumatism and improve the diagnosis level of rheumatism in the country. In 1988, he formulated the diagnostic standards for SLE in China, and after verification by relevant departments of 27 medical units across the country, it was confirmed that it was more conducive to the early diagnosis of SLE than the ARA standard in the United States in 1982, and was adopted as a national standard and included in the textbooks of medical colleges and universities.
Chen Shunle's vision does not only stay in the clinic, he is well aware of the progress of basic research on the clinical role of the great promotion, in the 1990s, when molecular genetics research has just set off a boom in the world, he spent a lot of money to introduce equipment, and trained a group of molecular genetics research professionals, so that Renji rheumatism in this field into the international frontier. His research team has also become the earliest and most famous team engaged in rheumatism genetics research in China.
In 1999, the epidemiological survey of the Department of Rheumatology of Renji showed that the 10-year survival rate of SLE patients increased from 25% in the 1960s to 84%, and the 18-year survival rate reached 70%, which has leapt to the international advanced level.
In 2000, Renji established the first modern rheumatology institute in China.
In 2002, Renji established Shanghai Rheumatology Clinical Medical Center.
In 2005, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus was published, the first SLE monograph in the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2007, Renji established the "Comprehensive Technology Platform for Clinical Translational Research of Autoimmune Diseases".
On January 11, 2010, Chen Shunle walked into the Great Hall of the People and received the 14th scientific and technological award certificate of Renji Rheumatism from the national leaders - "Pathogenesis and Clinical Treatment Technology of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus" and won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2009. A "click" recorded this exciting moment, and this photo, which was also hung in his office, became a constant encouragement and encouragement to himself.
"You have truly established a rheumatology discipline of world-class and won the respect of your peers around the world." On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Renji Rheumatology Department, Professor Eng M Tan of the Scripps Institute in California, a well-known autoimmune disease expert who is revered as the "father of autoantibodies", wrote in a congratulatory letter.
Chen Shunle has also become a soul figure in the field of international rheumatology, as a Chinese, he was elected for the first time as the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Rheumatology Societies, awarded the honorary title of "ACR Master" by the American Rheumatology Society, and won the "Master" Award of the Asia-Pacific Rheumatology Alliance.
What he has is not only honor and certificate, patients who have traveled thousands of miles, the bustle of rheumatology clinics and wards, which proves his hard work and efforts, and the rheumatism field "South has Renji", but also spreads all over the world with the reputation of the people.
A hundred flowers bloom in the garden in spring
In 2003, a term came out – the GROPEC Cooperation Organization.
This abbreviation represents the six departments of Renji Hospital: Gynecology, Radiology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Endocrinology and Cardiology, which are the most closely related departments of rheumatology. It also promotes the development of various disciplines.
At Chen Shunle's clinic, he often encounters the same question from female SLE patients: "Can I get pregnant?" Looking at the patient's nervous and expectant eyes, Chen Shunle always smiled and said, "Of course, I can, but when I get pregnant, I have to listen to me." The patient was relieved, but they did not know how much the old doctor, who had two white sideburns, would need to pay for this promise.
In the treatment of lupus, pregnancy is considered to aggravate the disease, so traditionally doctors generally do not recommend patients to have children, and in China, a country with the traditional consciousness of "no queen is greater", the inability to have children has aggravated the burden and pain of the patient's soul. The Rheumatology Department and the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department joined hands, and after continuous trial and effort, they finally achieved a breakthrough of zero - in 1992, the first SLE patient's baby fell to the ground, and since then, SLE has no longer been a forbidden area for fertility. Chen Shunle summarized the criteria for disease remission before pregnancy in patients with SLE, which provided a reference for clinicians' treatment decisions.
The Radiology Department holds weekly reading meetings on difficult cases in the Rheumatology Department, the Orthopedic Department actively participates in the surgical treatment of patients with end-stage arthritis, and the Cardiology Department joins the diagnosis and research of rheumatism-related pulmonary hypertension... These cooperations have enabled the GROPEC department to grow rapidly. The Department of Radiology published the first rheumatology imaging book in China; the Department of Pediatrics established a rheumatism ward, and the treatment of children's rheumatism became a feature of Renji Pediatrics; and the obstetrics and gynecology department with a long tradition is famous throughout the country for its treatment of infertility and high-risk pregnancies.
Chen Shunle's heart is not only loaded with Renji, but also with the entire Rheumatology of China.
Huang Feng, the discipline leader of the Department of Rheumatology of the PLA General Hospital and a student of the Shanghai International Rheumatology New Progress Study Class co-organized by Chen Shunle and the WHO in 1991, said: "Professor Chen not only carried out cutting-edge research in his department in line with international standards, but also devoted himself to popularizing basic and clinical immunology and clinical rheumatology knowledge in the country... It has opened a window to the world of rheumatism abroad for us, and built a platform for the younger generation of rheumatologists in China to connect with the world. ”
Chen Shunle held international and domestic academic conferences, held national training courses and seminars, assisted sister hospitals in establishing rheumatology departments, and sent young people abroad to learn new theories and technologies... In the department, those enthusiastic young people are now famous all over the world, and the spark sown by rheumatology education has long been vigorously ignited throughout China.
"A single flower is not spring, a hundred flowers bloom in the spring and fill the garden." When Shanghai, when the rheumatology disciplines of medical universities and hospitals across the country are developed, it is possible to truly usher in the spring of rheumatism. Chen Shunle said.
Want to go to the next level
"Unity and self-discipline, refinement and innovation" is Chen Shunle's motto and the discipline of rheumatology. He laughed and said, "I'm going to take care of myself first." ”
Despite the passage of time, he is still the Chen Shunle who pays attention to the quality of life and is jokingly called "Old Keler" by his students, and his endless pursuit of medicine is like his lifestyle, striving for excellence. He vividly remembers his reasons for joining SCL: "SLE is the prototype for all autoimmune diseases, requiring doctors to master all the knowledge of internal medicine and integrate basic theory and clinical experience." The study of SLE can improve the understanding and diagnosis and treatment of other autoimmune diseases, and a good lupus doctor must be a good rheumatologist. ”
What else should a good doctor do?
"HCP", this is Chen Shunle's answer. This abbreviation represents 3 words "healthy, competition, pretty", not only to let patients have the same life as healthy people, but also to have beauty and the ability to participate in social competition, which is Chen Shunle's dream.
Because of this dream, he proposed to set up an SLE Medical Fitness Club, and cooperated with sports medicine experts to establish a lupus exercise fitness process and evaluation standards; he sent young doctors to study joint B ultrasound abroad to improve the early diagnosis rate and accuracy of arthritis assessment; he "knew that there were tigers in the mountains, preferring tigers to the tiger mountains" to encourage young people to explore the mechanisms and new treatment programs for difficult and serious diseases in rheumatology; he invited patients to participate in the international academic conference on rheumatism, so that these patients entered the Great Hall of the People...
Because of this dream, at the beginning of the establishment of the department, he proposed to establish a standardized and sustainable database of rheumatism patients.
The number of patients abroad is far less than in China, but the level of clinical medical research is at the forefront, and the perfect data system is indispensable. Chen Shunle realized the value of databases early on, and he wanted patients to have a home in Renji.
From the hand-drawn follow-up form to the current electronic database; from the inexperienced recorder to the chief physician who returned from overseas database study; from the independent sample bank of the Rheumatology Department, to the rheumatology data platform in Shanghai... One data records each patient's onset and remission, a batch of samples records the sweat of rheumatology, and a chart reveals the pathogenesis and pathogenesis, and these clinical data and samples have become a solid pillar for the continuous advancement of rheumatology.
Because of this dream, he hopes to one day tell patients that "you are basically cured." ”
SLE has been called "blood cancer" by patients, and there are as many relapses as the condition is relieved. With the efforts of countless rheumatologists, the experience of patients living with the disease has been greatly improved, however, lifelong medication has caused a heavy psychological burden on patients. In a 30-year follow-up of SLE patients, Chen Shunle found that some patients who can still maintain long-term stability by self-medication gave him a new idea: which factors are involved in maintaining the stability of these patients, and what factors can predict the recurrence of the disease? If such molecules do exist, they may be able to better keep patients away from the disease through targeted therapy. So, with his white hair, together with his successors, he embarked on a new journey...
In the medicine of the motherland, SLE is called "butterfly disease", and Chen Shunle hopes that his patients can also be like beautiful butterflies, break free from the shackles of disease, and dance and fly in their own lives. This was his lifelong dream, and the hope of 177 years of benevolent healers.
The scenery of the Bund changes with the years, and the brilliant lights are still there. We vaguely heard - the ancient wooden door of Renji Hospital creaked, and it was the spirited Chen Shunle who pushed the door in, 24 years old, and it was a good year of youth... At that time, he did not expect that decades later, it was he who opened the door of Renji rheumatology and led Chinese rheumatism to the world stage.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Professor Chen Shunle's medical practice, Academician Zhong Nanshan waved a message: "Qingyun is dressed in white neon clothes, and the long arrow is shooting at the wolf." ”
This is not only the life of Chen Shunle, but also Huang Mingxin, Jiang Shaoji, the master of all the brilliant stars of Renji, the silent pursuit of students, and the soul of Renji medicine passed down from generation to generation.
Author: Tang Wenjia
Edit: Wang Xing