Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to share these peer-reviewed highlights from the International Stroke Conference (ISC), held February 11 to 13, in Nashville, Tennessee. The ISC is the largest meeting in the world dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. More than 1500 presentations in 21 categories addressed work in the basic, clinical, and translational sciences to elucidate the pathophysiology of stroke and its prevention and treatment.

The scope and quality of the abstracts presented continue to make the ISC a dynamic and innovative forum where advances in research can be translated into practical application for the clinician. The articles selected for this edition of MD Conference Express®, the official highlights report for ISC 2015, represent the most newsworthy and cutting-edge topics of relevance to a broad array of practitioners.

Some of the studies presented live at ISC 2015 and in this edition will influence clinical practice. When endovascular therapy is added to medical therapy, the outcome was improved when compared to medical therapy alone in 4 different clinical trials. The MR CLEAN study showed that endovascular treatment performed within 6 hours was safe and improved the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days. In SWIFT PRIME, thrombectomy was safe and improved final disability levels in patients with emergency large vessel occlusions in the anterior circulation. Greater reperfusion and early neurologic recovery was achieved in patients selected using CT perfusion imaging to define salvageable tissue in the Extend-IA study. And in patients with a good ASPECTS score and good collateral circulation, the ESCAPE study showed greater improvement in the 90-day mRS in patients who underwent thrombectomy.

The special update articles provide new information about efforts to improve stroke care in women and recommendations for strategies to increase their participation in clinical trials, strategies to modulate neuroinflammation to reduce cognitive dysfunction after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cerebrovascular wall imaging. The feature articles highlight the innovative approach of neurorestoration, by enhancing innate spontaneous neuroplasticity with stem cell therapies, and a call to action to address disparities in the treatment of stroke.

We hope that you will find the articles and practical perspectives contained in the pages of this edition of MD Conference Express to be useful in your clinical practice. Access ISC 2015 content (webcasts and slides) online at http://my.americanheart.org/professional/Sessions/InternationalStrokeConference/ScienceNews/Science-News-International-Stroke-Conference_UCM_316938_SubHomePage.jsp.

We wish you all the best in the coming year and hope to see you in Los Angeles for ISC 2016. For more information (including abstract submission dates), please visit www.strokeconference.org.