Cerebrovascular Diseases: Perspectives for the Next Decade

This issue of The Open Neurology Journal addresses with six manuscripts emerging risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases. Even being in the ‘post thrombolysis era’, stroke remains a major cause of death and disability. This is true not only in industrialized but also for developing countries where the burden of stroke is more and more increasing. This is also demonstrated by the growing interest in stroke medicine by the middle east academic community. In particular the collaboration with the Egyptian group headed by Garib Fawi and Mohammed Abdalla Abbas should be highlighted as the burden of stroke is steadily increasing its epidemiological prominence due to the aging of the population. And because of the successful treatments in the field of oncology and infectious diseases. Although the major advances in the understanding of mechanisms of brain ischemia and its risk factors several aspects are still unclear. In this view stroke physicians have been at the forefront of advancing knowledge in this field and continue to be called upon to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of this problem.