Stroke: 30 years of progress: 1982-1987.

Abstract

The invitation to reflect on the progress in stroke and the contributions of this journal to developments during the years 1982 to 1987 arouses many memories. In committee report format, it is to be noted that in 1982 the 6 bimonthly issues totaled 942 pages, including the index, the news from the AHA, the literature abstracts, and the program of the Stroke Council Conference. By 1987 there were 1406 pages. Permission was granted to go monthly. Behind the dull statistics, the expansion of Stroke reveals that a critical mass of professionals were dedicating their careers to the study of this common cause of death and dreadful disability. This increased enthusiasm occurred in countries on both sides of the Atlantic, in Japan, Taiwan, and “down under.” The internationalization of the journal is reflected in all successive issues and was a factor determining expansion. Descriptive stroke neurology was still ongoing during this half-decade. The further delineation of the lacunar stroke as a clinically identifiable entity was a feature of one issue. Classic descriptions of “pure sensory stroke” came from the pen of the master of this subject, C. Miller Fisher. He was allowed an unprecedented 13 pages for his report. His Discussion portion occupied only 1 page. There were 7 references, all referring, appropriately, to his past communications about lacunar disease, dating back to 1965. Motor strokes of presumed lacunar origin were the subject of a smaller series reported from Toulouse, France. What has become a classic review on the concept of lacunes came from the pen of Fisher’s pupil and the deputy editor of Stroke , J.P. Mohr. Stroke was privileged later in this era to publish another lengthy article describing the observations of Fisher on the subject of “Late-Life Migraine Accompaniments.” This persuasive case-series report was accompanied by a discussion …