Leading and emerging investigators from within and outside the immediate area of cerebrovascular disease have come together to explore the state-of-the-art and future directions of research and clinical practice leading to enhanced medical care in the acute treatment of ischemic stroke. The agenda highlights various facets of acute intervention and a number of unaddressed issues related to the medical setting of stroke that impact clinical outcomes and provide opportunities for improving treatment. The main goals are the generation of data-driven, multidisciplinary ideas, to explore ischemic stroke as a systemic disease related to other disease entities (hypertension, diabetes, and disorders of aging), and to better address the evolution of ischemic brain injury. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit: http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.111/(ISSN)1749-6632 ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order ( www.nyas.org ). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx  for more information about becoming a member.