Stroke: working toward a prioritized world agenda.

Area of Science:

• Focus on interdisciplinary collaboration to overcome research silos.
• Integrate basic science, clinical practice, and epidemiology for comprehensive stroke research.
• Identify and incorporate emerging scientific fields to advance stroke care.

Background:

• The Synergium convened experts to prioritize strategies for reducing stroke risks and consequences.
• Preliminary work involved seven working groups, followed by a forum with approximately 100 participants.
• Draft recommendations were refined through input from a wider group of contributors.

Framework:

• Develop new collaborative systems to dismantle the 'silo' mentality in research.
• Establish vertically integrated models across basic, clinical, and epidemiological disciplines.
• Create efficient mechanisms for identifying and leveraging relevant scientific advancements.

Implementation:

• Launch a global chronic disease prevention initiative with a focus on stroke.
• Recognize and address subclinical stroke as a prevalent form of cerebrovascular disease.
• Implement and evaluate population-based stroke prevention strategies and public health communication.
• Advance acute stroke management through stroke centers, units, and telestroke networks.
• Translate neuroscience findings into poststroke recovery research and clinical practice.
• Standardize rehabilitation based on evidence and develop consensus on assessments.
• Promote global access to stroke information and establish centralized registries.
• Foster stakeholder cooperation and utilize a 'Brain Health' concept for education and prevention.

Implications:

• Accelerated progress in stroke requires moving beyond current scientific and conceptual limitations.
• Discontinuing unproven practices can lead to significant savings in time, money, and effort.
• Systematic knowledge integration and rigorous evaluation are key to speeding up advancements in stroke care and prevention.