Inaugural Special Collection of AJNR

We would like to thank Mauricio Castillo, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Neuroradiology (AJNR), for inviting us to be Guest Editors for the first AJNR special electronic collection, titled Imaging Acute Stroke and Its Consequences. We consider the invitation a great honor, and it has provided us the opportunity to review the substantive progression of an area of neuroimaging that is of major current clinical importance and will likely lead to improvements in treatment in the near future.

AJNR is the premiere imaging-focused journal that publishes scientific reports about ischemic stroke and is the major repository of descriptions of advances in its diagnosis and treatment by using imaging guidance. We reviewed approximately 360 articles published in AJNR from January 1, 2001, to July 31, 2008. The review process was immensely gratifying. AJNR has published many landmark articles documenting the utility of neuroimaging in the diagnosis and treatment of acute ischemic stroke, and we both rediscovered many terrific articles that were groundbreaking at publication and have withstood the test of time. The improvement in acute stroke imaging during this short 7-year period is astounding. Earlier articles focused on noncontrast CT and digital subtraction angiography, while more recent articles focus on diffusion, MR and CT perfusion, and CT angiography.

Because most of the articles were of such high quality, it was very difficult to select which 45 of the 360 we should include in this special edition. In general, we chose articles that have 1) made a difference in the way we image acute stroke, 2) altered the way in which we diagnose acute stroke, 3) defined how we use acute stroke imaging to predict tissue and patient outcome, or 4) defined how we use acute stroke imaging to guide treatment. We also favored articles with prospective designs, uniform patient populations, and large patient numbers. In addition, we tried to make sure that the articles covered all of the major imaging modalities, the major stroke etiologies, and both vascular and parenchymal imaging.

Ultimately, the selection process was subjective, and we have inevitably omitted many important articles. We regret we could not include additional articles. We hope you will enjoy reading this special collection and will find it a valuable resource on the major developments in acute stroke imaging during the last 7 years.

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