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An Editor Departs: Ave et Vale

2001; Wiley; Volume: 42; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1046/j.1528-1157.2001.0420121489.x

1528-1167

Timothy A. Pedley,

Neurology and Historical Studies

This issue marks my last as Editor. It is thus an appropriate time to look back over the past 8 years and consider how Epilepsia has changed. It also gives me the opportunity to review briefly the journal's history, thank the many people who have worked to make the journal successful, and introduce the new Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Robert S. Fisher. Epilepsia was established in 1909 by a number of distinguished neurologists and epileptologists, including John Hughlings Jackson. That year also saw the organization and first meeting, in Budapest, of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), which decided to make Epilepsia its official journal. Dr. J. Donath from Budapest served as Editor-in-Chief. Epilepsia was published quarterly, and five volumes appeared between 1909 and 1915, when World War I ended publication for 22 years. The ILAE was reorganized in 1935 in London, but Volume 1 of the second series of Epilepsia did not appear until 1937. The journal followed the direction of the League at the time and emphasized the “social care of epileptics and not so much scientific research into epilepsy.” Dr. H. I. Schou from Denmark was named Editor. Issues appeared annually, and Volume 1 was completed with the fourth issue published in 1941. Because the wartime conditions in Europe did not allow the editorial office in Denmark to continue to function, William G. Lennox became the de facto editor from 1941 to 1950, although H. I. Schou continued to be listed as editor in collaboration with Tyler Fox (England), Lennox, and K. H. Stauder (Germany). Dennis Williams succeeded Fox in 1946. Two more complete volumes of one issue per year appeared, but a fourth was published incomplete in 1950: it contained only two issues. No issues of the Epilepsia were published between 1950 and 1952, but the journal was launched again as a third series beginning in November 1952. Editing was assigned to the Publications Committee of the American chapter of the ILAE, chaired by Jerome K. Merlis. Publication again ceased in 1955, apparently because of difficulty finding a publisher. A fourth series was begun in 1959 when Elsevier Publishing Company showed interest in revitalizing Epilepsia as a quarterly journal. Sir Francis Walshe, a former editor of Brain, was named Editor-in-Chief, and Henri Gastaut, Gilbert Glaser, and Albert Lorentz de Haas served as associate editors. In 1974, Raven Press succeeded Elsevier as publisher, and by 1978, issues were appearing bimonthly. In 1961, Walshe retired as Editor-in-Chief. Gastaut, Lorentz de Haas, and Glaser continued as joint editors until 1973, when Arthur A. Ward was named Editor-in-Chief, a position he held until 1985, when James A. Cereghino was named Editor. I succeeded Dr. Cereghino in 1994. Between 1993 and 2001, the number of new submitted manuscripts increased by 121%. This growth occurred even as competing pressures from both established and new publications devoted to epilepsy, as well as from general neurology journals, have become more intense. To accommodate the steady growth in manuscripts accepted for publication without increasing the rejection rate excessively or prolonging the delay between acceptance of a manuscript and its publication, several steps were taken. In 1995, Epilepsia began appearing monthly. At the same time, the journal's page size increased to the dimensions familiar today, which had already become standard for most journals. The number of pages per issue increased to 112 in 1995 and to 144 in 2000. Additional pages for research reports were obtained by eliminating the French, Spanish, and German translations of every abstract. In 1993, the lag from acceptance to publication was 14 months; in 2001, it has averaged 4.5 months. The Editorial Board was enlarged substantially to provide the necessary breadth of expertise required to review the subject range of manuscripts rigorously and fairly. To avoid endless indentured servitude, we established term limits of 3 years, renewable once, for members of the Editorial Board. About one fourth of the Board now turns over each year. The “Instructions for Authors” was revised. Among the changes were a specific policy regarding conflict of interest and the introduction of Brief Communications and Letters to the Editor as new vehicles for particular types of communication. Structured abstracts were introduced. Other new features were Editorial Commentaries on selected articles and critical reviews published under the heading “Progress in Epilepsy Research.” We have continued to publish supplements as valuable sources of up-to-date reviews and consensus statements. At the same time, rigorous new “Guidelines for Supplements” were developed to assure high quality and educational value while avoiding promotion of a sponsor or a sponsor's product. As Supplement Editors, Dr. Cereghino and, more recently Dr. Fisher, have assured the high quality of our supplements, and I am grateful to them for maintaining standards, sometimes in the face of considerable pressure. The Science Citation Index (SCI) is compiled annually from a database of scientific and technical journals. For each journal in its database, the SCI determines an impact factor. The impact factor of a journal is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in that journal has been cited by other journals in the database over the 2 years just preceding the current year. The analysis includes original articles, reviews, and technical notes. For any journal, the impact factor is calculated by dividing the total number of citations the journal received in the analysis period by the number of articles published in that journal during the same period. Impact factors are an important measure of a journal's standing in the field. In 1994, the impact factor of Epilepsia was 2.394; in 2001 (reflecting citations in 1999 and 2000), it was 3.718, putting it in 11th place among 137 journals listed as “Clinical Neurology” in the SCI. We also now compare favorably with Neurology (4.781) and Archives of Neurology (4.393). In 1995, we encouraged authors to submit the final revised version of their manuscripts on disk; in 1998, this became a requirement. In 1999, Epilepsia began appearing online in a handsome electronic reproduction of the print version. This year, with the know-how of our new publisher, Blackwell Science, we have begun taking full advantage of online publishing by introducing the capability for allowing authors to add more technical detail, expand tables, provide more figures, and include extended samples of continuous video-EEG. In the near future, there will be still more: interactive figures, animations, and sophisticated search engines and external linking to other journals and databases, to name but a few. These enhancements will benefit all readers. Last year, Blackwell Science installed Manuscript Central in the Editorial Office. This software allows online submission of manuscripts by authors and their subsequent evaluations by our reviewers. Virtually all communications with authors and reviewers is now electronic. There are still a few glitches, but overall the system is working well and will only improve further. At its meeting during the 24th International Epilepsy Congress in Buenos Aires, the Executive Committee of the ILAE named Dr. Robert S. Fisher as the next Editor-in-Chief, beginning in January 2002. This was a wise choice. Dr. Fisher brings considerable expertise in epilepsy and skills in editing to the position, and I am confident that his appointment will be welcomed throughout the world-wide epilepsy community. Dr. Fisher received both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University, where he worked with Professor David A. Prince. He trained in neurology at Johns Hopkins University with Professor Guy McKhann, and in 1983, he was appointed to the Hopkins faculty. In 1992, Dr. Fisher left Hopkins in to become head of the Epilepsy Center and Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratories at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1998, he became Chairman of Neurology at Barrow, a position he held until last year, when he was recruited back to Stanford, this time as the Maslah Saul Professor of Neurology and Director of the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Dr. Fisher brings many strengths to the journal. He is an accomplished investigator, and his research has encompassed both basic and clinical studies. This background gives him the kind of wide perspective of the epilepsy field that the editor of Epilepsia needs. He has devoted considerable time to activities of the Epilepsy Foundation [an International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) chapter] and the American Epilepsy Society (AES; an ILAE chapter), and he served as AES President in 1999. For the last four years, Dr. Fisher has been Supplements Editor for Epilepsia, a difficult job that he has filled with innovative distinction. Finally, Dr. Fisher has extensive editorial experience, including abstracts of international meetings, the various supplements that have appeared under his aegis, and several books that he has edited. Because of the international implications of this appointment, it is worth highlighting other specific contributions that Dr. Fisher has made at the international level: He has served on ILAE's Commission on Diagnostic Strategies. He has served on the Driving and Epilepsy Committee for ILAE. He contributed to ILAE's published guidelines on Driving. He has trained six fellows from outside the United States who are now leaders, or are becoming leaders, in the international epilepsy movement. He has served as symposium chair at an International Epilepsy Congress. Several international epileptologists have studied with him for short periods. He drafted the “Imitators of Epilepsy” section for ILAE. He was a visiting professor for 1 month in South Africa (sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation of America). I am confident that as Editor of Epilepsia and a member of ILAE's Executive Committee, Dr. Fisher will contribute substantively and helpfully to the work of the League and the principles embodied in the Global Campaign. Finally, Dr. Fisher's excellent interpersonal skills, modest manner, and self-deprecating humor make him an enjoyable and likeable colleague. Epilepsia will flourish under his leadership. Acknowledgments: In writing this farewell, I became acutely aware of how many people are involved in publishing the journal and contributing to its success. First, I am grateful to the two ILAE Presidents I have worked under, Dr. E. H. Reynolds and Dr. Jerome Engel, Jr., whose confidence and support were never in question. Other officers of the League, including especially Dr. Peter Wolf, the Secretary-General during my two terms, Dr. Simon Shorvon, first a Vice-President and then Information Officer, Dr. Giuliano Avanzini, first a Vice-President, then Treasurer, and now President, and Dr. Harry Meinardi, a Past-President and the League's Historian provided advice, factual information, helpful criticism, and friendship. From the Bureau, Ms. Hanneke M. de Boer, Mr. Richard Holmes, Mr. Michael Hills, Mr. Johan Falk-Pedersen, and Mr. Philip Lee demonstrated over and over again what true commitment means. Dr. Eleanor Ben-Menachem performed yeoman service as Book Editor. The journal's publishers, first Raven Press, then Lippincott–Raven, which became Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, and most recently Blackwell Science, have strived for excellence and supported all the innovations enthusiastically. Over the years, the people behind these publishing names have included Rita Scheman, Mark Placito, Ellice Gerber, Antoinette Cimino, Marcia Serepy, Michael Klinman, and Cordelia Slaughter. Since January 2001, I have benefitted for the same expertise and professionalism at Blackwell Science, and I know that Dr. Fisher will depend, as have I, on the innovative and enthusiastic guidance of Jim Krosschell and Nancy Scott. All of them always had the best interests of epilepsy and the journal at heart. Members of the Editorial Board provided not only many critical reviews but also constructive criticism and wise advice. Persuading the “best” to serve on the Editorial Board is essential to setting and maintaining the highest standards. The journal's quality and impact also depend critically on our many ad hoc reviewers who labor in quiet anonymity. All of these individuals voluntarily contribute their time, skills, and energy to providing scholarly critiques of submitted manuscripts. Their only reward is the knowledge that their efforts improve and sustain the journal's excellence, and that their service benefits authors, readers, and editors. I am grateful for their contributions and forever in their debt. In recent years, Mr. Peter Berry, head of the Financial Office, and his staff have added much needed administrative support and provided professional oversight of the journal's finances. Last but not least, I thank Ms. Shirley Susarchick, my editorial assistant for the past 8 years, without whom the New York editorial office could not have functioned. I am grateful to have had the privilege of serving as Editor-in-Chief, and I am honored that I will be followed by Dr. Fisher.