Interventional neurology: A growing second specialty

Abstract

Currently, there is a growing interest in providing optimal treatment to each patient. The development of neurointerventional techniques and materials for effective and non-invasive treatment is remarkable. Neurologists deal with cerebrovascular diseases and prevalent pathologies, such as ischemic stroke with large vessel involvement requiring thrombectomy, intra or extracranial stenosis requiring stenting, hemorrhagic stroke, and other less frequent non-vascular conditions. They play an active role in the entire process from diagnosis to neurointerventional treatment.
The history of neuroangiography begins with Egas Moniz, a Portuguese neurologist who pioneered the field in the 1920s. Moniz presented his research results in 1927 at the neurological society of Paris. In the 1970s, specialists in neurology, neuroradiology, and neurosurgery contributed to the development of techniques and equipment for performing neurointerventional procedures. The growth of neurointerventionalism began in 1980 with pioneers who had dual training in neurology and neuroimaging, and the creation of the first associations of neurointerventionalists. As early as the 1990s, interventional neurology began to be discussed as a specialty within neurology and the role of the neurologist in its development.