The wonderful city of Dubrovnik was the host of the 24th Summer Stroke School with international participation June 3-8. The summer school was held under the auspices of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The usual and proud auspicates were Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, Croatian Stroke Society, Medical School University of Zagreb, Central and Eastern European Stroke Society and Applied Research Group on Delivery of Neurological Services (RGODNS) of World Federation of Neurology (WFN).
Course Director Vida Demarin, fellow of Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (Zagreb, Croatia), Professor Roman Haberl (Munich, Germany), Professor Kurt Niederkorn (Graz, Austria), Professor Tatjana Rundek (Miami, USA) and Professor Zlatko Trkanjec (Zagreb, Croatia) have once again shown that Croatia is one of Europe’s centers of knowledge. The course gathered many experts from around the world who unselfishlessly shared their clinical and personal experience and knowledge with course participants.
The aim of the course once again supported the cooperation and promoted the exchange of knowledge and experience among participants from different countries. This meeting shed a new light on epidemiology of stroke, its primary and secondary prevention, diagnostics, therapy and rehabilitation. All participants had a unique opportunity to share their national stroke data and discuss specific stroke problems of their country. Countries of East and West Europe had an opportunity to work together on solving problems related to stroke, whether they were medical, economical or of some other nature.
The diverse scientific program embraced different aspects of stroke, from the importance of spreading knowledge about stroke, stroke prevention in 2013, prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation, a new era, IMT/plaque, the same or different phenotypes, recent advances in ultrasound diagnosis, dissection of carotid and vertebral arteries as a cause of stroke, aortich atheroma as a risk factor for stroke, sensory impairments after stroke, silent brain infraction, thrombectomy in acute stroke, gender differences in stroke, detection of cerebral emboli using transcranial doppler, vascular mild cognitive impairment, gut — your second brain, diagnosis and treatment of vertebral artery stenosis, examination after stroke, postpartum stroke, advanced glycation end products (AGE) and their role in carotid atherogenesis, and many more interesting topics.
All of the hard work was awarded by a rich social and cultural program: an excursion to the island of Lokrum, a violin recital by Midori Komachi organized by Uta Schneider in honor of Professor Vida Demarin in Rectors Palace in the heart of Dubrovnik, and the closing night of this Summer Stroke School that offered flavors and tastes of traditional Mediterranean tasty and healthy foods in the peaceful atmosphere of Dubrovniks’s peninsula Babin Kuk. Altogether, it was a worthwhile and interesting scientific and social program and once more a successful Summer Stroke School. We look forward to the 25th Summer Stroke School June 9-13, 2014.
