The Third Conference on Cerebrovascular Disease, jointly sponsored by the American Neurological Association and the American Heart Association, met at Princeton, N.J., in January, 1961. Principally organized by Clark Millikan (Rochester, Minn.) with Irving Wright's (New York) assistance, the meeting placed main emphasis on diagnostic techniques and recent developments in treating 3 major groups of cerebrovascular disease: incipient or impending strokes; progressing strokes, and completed strokes. The detailed transactions, which will be published subsequently, reveal how greatly thinking has changed about diseases which 10 years ago were regarded as almost totally resistant to active therapy. This brief summary will reflect the conference highlights.
In diagnosing extracranial carotid disease, ophthalmoscopy is often helpful (Hollenhorst, Rochester, Minn.). Sixty-eight percent of patients with severe carotid stenosis or obstruction have a 5-10 gm. reduction of retinal artery pressure in the ipsilateral eye. In addition, cotton wool patches may be more prominent in the ipsilateral