European Stroke Organisation Conference
May 22–24, 2019
Raffaele Ornello, MD
At the 5th European Stroke Organisation Conference, there was an interesting session on Thursday, May 23, about small vessel disease (SVD), a frequent cause of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.
Professor Leif Østergaard from Aarhus University presented the role of the alterations of capillary hemodynamics in the pathogenesis of SVD, while Professor Nikolaus Plesnila from the University of Munich discussed the role of pericytes in brain ischemia and neurodegeneration.
Dr. Marco Düring from the University of Munich explained the evolution over time of the different MRI signs of SVD, from white matter hyperintensities to lacunes, while Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman from the University of Edinburgh dedicated his clinical presentation to the diagnostic criteria for cerebral amyloid angiopathy, from the Boston criteria to the newly diagnosed Edinburgh criteria.
At the end of the session, Professor Geert Jan Biessels from UMC Utrecht presented the principles of SVD treatment, from making the correct diagnosis to assessing the balance between the risk of brain ischemia and that of brain hemorrhage.
The most interesting feature of the session was the integration between preclinical and clinical evidence, both explained in a simple way by experts from all over Europe.
