German Stroke Society

Abstract

The German Stroke Society (Deutsche Schlaganfall-Gesellschaft, DSG) is a relatively young scientific organization in Germany. It was founded in 2001 in Frankfurt by a group of stroke-related neurologists and neuroscientists from the Kompetenznetz Schlaganfall (German Competence Stroke Net). The latter had been funded by a major grant from the health ministry of the German Federal Republic government in order to improve scientific cooperation among stroke researchers and to accelerate the transfer of novel basic knowledge to the bedside. The first Executive Board consisted of Prof. Dr Otto Busse, Minden (Chairman), Prof. Dr Wolfgang Kuschinski, Heidelberg, Prof. Dr E. Bernd Ringelstein, Munster, Prof. Dr Arno Villringer, Berlin and Prof. Dr Rolf Schneider, Aschaffenburg. According to the bylaws, the Chairman’s term shall last for 2 years. The DSG is funded by membership fees (presently 50 Euro/year) and by sponsorship from the industry and non-profit organizations. Its aims are to enhance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of stroke by strengthening stroke-related research, education and clinical supply. At present, the DSG has approximately 320 members. Stroke is a major burden and a severe medical and humane challenge with respect to its consequences. The number of approximately 200 000 new strokes per year in Germany gives an idea of the economic problem and the burden on society. During the last years, much progress had been achieved in stroke treatment both in the acute phase and during early rehabilitation. Particularly in Germany, new standards and guidelines for the management of stroke patients have been defined, and a network of stroke units has been built up all over the country. It is one of the major aims of the DSG to achieve full coverage with stroke unit care nationwide. This will be done in close cooperation with other societies, like the German Neurological Society (DGN), and with support by the pharmaceutical industry, and health authorities as well. In the following, we will give a short review on what has already been done, and what are the next steps. One of the slogans of the DSG is ‘Research, Promote and Transfer’ (‘Forschen, Fordern, Transferieren’). The DSG organizes scientific symposia and teaching courses both nationally and internationally. The society has been involved in campaigns to enhance stroke awareness and to increase the knowledge about prevention and treatment of stroke. The DSG has made a contract for intense cooperation with the Competence Network Stroke, the latter representing its scientific arm. Concerning teaching, the DSG has issued a PowerPoint presentation named ‘Schlaganfall Aktuell’ (‘Stroke Today’) authored by Drs Busse, Darius, Grond, Kolloch and Tschope. A CD-ROM has been provided to enable doctors interested in stroke to use this material for stroke-related teaching. In 2003, for instance, 3000 practitioners and clinicians have been taught at approximately 60 meetings. Teaching content is evidence based and in line with the guidelines of the DGN. Every year the German Stroke Society organizes a summer school on stroke for young physicians with a particular interest in stroke. This project is also sponsored by the DGN. These 2–3-day meetings are restricted to approximately 50 young participants incorporating the ‘Meet-the-Professor’ format. Aside from these teaching activities for physicians, the DSG has also organized several courses for nurses to specialize in stroke care during a 6-week curriculum in Minden. One of the most important aims of the DSG is to coordinate any activities related to stroke in Germany, thus enhancing their effectiveness. The main platforms for activities are the 152 stroke units already certified by a quality management procedure. This type of stroke unit in Germany is an acute monitoring stroke unit combined with early rehabilitation. The monitoring of acute stroke patients is done over 3–4 days with control of parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, breathing frequency, body temperature and additional neurophysiological indexes if needed. During this time and thereafter, patients receive early rehabilitation by members of the stroke team, including nurses with stroke expertise, physical therapists, speech therapists (when appropriate) for diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia, occupational therapy for training of arm movements and for aids assessment, as well as support by social workers. The German Stroke Units’ staff is clearly increased as compared with general neurological or medical wards. So far, these 152 stroke units cover approximately 45% of German stroke patients. In several remote areas, three funded research projects on ‘Stroke TeleCorrespondence: E. Bernd Ringelstein , MD; FAHA, Professor of Neurology, Universitatsklinikum Munster, Neurologische Klinik, AlbertSchweitzer-Str. 33, 48149 Munster, Germany. Tel: 0251 83 48172, 0251 83 49652; Fax: 0251 83 48199; email: ringels@uni-muenster.de Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Munster, Germany Departments of Neurology, Community Hospital, Minden, Germany Department of Neurology, Community Hospital, Siegen, Germany