World Stroke Congress 2026: fresh data, key sessions, back-to-back honour

Over three days at the 18th World Stroke Congress in Seoul, Korea, PHRI researchers Raed Joundi, Aristeidis Katsanos, Mike Sharma, and Ashkan Shoamanesh shared their latest research and insights on stroke prevention and treatment.

For the second year in a row, scientist Raed Joundi received the World Stroke Organization (WSO) Young Investigator Award. The recognition was for his abstract, “Stroke Incidence, Case Fatality, and Disability in 25 High-, Middle-, and Low-Income Countries: The PURE Study.” The award celebrates promising young investigators making meaningful contributions to stroke science.

Joundi also presented findings from an MRI substudy of OCEANIC-STROKE, examining the effect of the Factor XIa inhibitor asundexian on ischemic stroke recurrence according to baseline infarct pattern.

Scientist Aristeidis Katsanos discussed the latest approaches to treating intracerebral haemorrhage in stroke. He also took part in an interactive session and presented on fine-tuning decisions for stroke patients with right-left shunts using transcranial Doppler.

Senior scientist Mike Sharma presented findings from OCEANIC-STROKE on Factor XI inhibitors for secondary stroke prevention highlighting stroke recurrence and severity. He also moderated a session on personalized treatment and stroke prevention and shared insights on analyzing Phase 3 study data.

Senior scientist Ashkan Shoamanesh presented findings from the ENRICH-AF trial, which tested whether the widely used direct oral anticoagulant edoxaban could safely prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation who have survived an intracranial haemorrhage. The researchers found that edoxaban did not reduce the risk of stroke and increased the risk of major bleeding.

Shoamanesh also moderated a symposium showcasing the latest clinical trials in secondary stroke prevention and shared insights and lessons from OCEANIC-STROKE on Factor XI inhibitors in different stroke mechanisms.