Report of the 18 th European Stroke

Opening day, 27 May, had participants fully occupied from 8.30 to 19.30 h, using all 6 major rooms and lecture halls including plenary sessions in the Victoria Hall. The early morning started with a symposium on smallvessel disease (H. Chabriat, M. Dichgans, chairs). Individual sessions in parallel covered oral presentations on acute events (TIA included), patterns and treatment of acute stroke, and a full session on vascular, neurointerventional, neurosurgical and neuroradiological management for stroke, this last yet another sign of the expanding scope and participation for subspecialties in the Conference. As has been the custom in this report, for reasons of brevity some of the findings are cited without the full list of authors or even abstract title – apologies to any who might take offense. Time trends in patient behavior immediately after TIA or minor stroke showed the reassuring finding that those familiar with the symptoms and signs reported for medical management earlier. The ABCD2 score proved a surprise by predicting the severity, if not the risk of recurrent event but, as hoped, had significant associations with DWI+ findings. Aspirin and clopidogrel in aspirin-naïve patients had the puzzling finding of a higher risk of bleeding, including life-threatening bleeds, compared with those for whom clopidogrel was added to aspirin (p ! 0.004). Baseline NIHSS ! 10 and absence of carotid disease best predicted shortand longterm outcome in acute stroke patients without intracraThe 18th European Stroke Conference was held on 26– 29 May in Stockholm, the second occasion for the meeting and the first city to be a repeat host. In the 15 years since the last meeting in Stockholm, the venue has changed to a modern large congress facility, suitable for the attendance expansion in the last decade and a half. Although the attendance for the 18th Conference, at approximately 3,000 registrants from 86 countries, was a bit lower than that in Nice, mainly a sign of the worldwide economic downturn, the scope of the meeting continues to grow and the number of abstracts submitted ( 1 1,100) and scientific contributions presented was the largest ever. One clear indication of growth was the daunting 256-page special publication containing the abstracts for the Conference in the leading European journal Cerebrovascular Diseases. As has become a custom, the first day, Tuesday, 26 May, was devoted to a range of 10 teaching courses occupying the entire afternoon. Subjects spanned the range from basic research through clinical presentation, risk factors, stroke related to differing organ systems, and management decision-making. Fully 45 speakers made presentations. In addition the 3rd Stroke Meeting for Nurses, Physiotherapists, Speech and Occupational Therapists and Study/Monitoring Assistants covered a full day program with lectures, workshops and poster presentations on rehabilitation and nursing. Published online: October 13, 2009