Jagiellonian University

Jagiellonian University
German

Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology Jagiellonian University Medical College is the oldest and largest geriatric center in Poland. It carries out activities on treatment, teaching and research. The Department includes 60-bed unit, geriatric clinic, outpatient heart failure clinic, outpatient clinic for treatment of hypertension, immune diseases, rheumatology and the Department of Family Medicine. Department is equipped in laboratory X-ray, densitometry, ultrasound, ECHO, Holter tests and has access to the lab. Staff consists of 25 physicians specialist in internal medicine, including 8 geriatricians, 7 hypertensiologists, 3 rheumatologists, 3 immunologists, 10 residents in the course of specialization, 5 PhD students, moreover 1 psychiatrist, 1 psychologist, 4 physiotherapists, 3 nutritionists. Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology has been awarded membership to Global Ageing Research Network (GARN) under the ID reference n°2011-377, and Excellence Center in Geriatrics.

For over 30 years Department carries out and participates in research in the field of gerontology and geriatrics. Thirty years ago, in the 80’s, the staff of this Department conducted first in Poland prospective observation of older population in Krakow, then we took part in the study of Polish centenarians (PolStu 2001 project), and in epidemiological study PolSenior (2007-2011) aimed to assess medical, psychological, sociological and economic aspects of ageing in Poland. Other studies, that included older population, in which Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology was involved were Syst-Eur (Systolic Hypertension in Europe Trial) and HYVET (Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial). Clinical staff is being involved in the research studies on sarcopenia, osteoporosis and frailty in patients with heart failure, determinants of disability in old age, including the role of vitamin D and myostatin, explores the relationship between sarcopenia and osteopenia and inflammatory markers.

Other field of interests of the staff of Department during last 30 years have been cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, as well as diabetes mellitus, hence participation in projects such as SCOPE, ADVANCE, OASIS-HT, RAVEL-1, Polish 400 Cities Project, POLCARD.

The team of Department is involved in the development and updating guidelines for the management of hypertension, osteoporosis and falls, heart failure, and dementia, as well as development of standards for the provision of medical services in geriatrics and strategies for the development of the geriatric care system, and solution to improve the quality of care for older people in the health care system.