Tremendous progress is taking place in biomedical research on both the basic and clinical aspects of kidney diseases throughout the world. A substantial part of this is undoubtedly contributed by the pathological study of the renal biopsies, a subject which falls in the subspecialty of surgical pathology known as nephropathology. Nephropathology is a rapidly evolving field which is at the forefront of modern research, because of the growing epidemic of kidney disease throughout the world (1).
Kidneys also constitute the most common solid organs for transplantation in patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (2). As a result, renal transplant pathology has similarly emerged as one of the leading domains of the subspecialty of nephropathology (3). Numerous advancements have also taken place in the field of renal transplant pathology in recent years (4,5).
Many biomedical journals are published in English language each year, mostly from the western part of the world, to cater to the increasing numbers of scholarly articles. Their number has increased markedly in recent years in the field of nephrology, and the related fields of urology and transplantation. More recently, many online and open access journals have also made an entry into the area of biomedical publishing (6). Almost every issue of the major journals in the specialties of nephrology, urology, and transplantation contains a number of papers on nephropathology subjects. In spite of the above plethora of journals related to nephrology, urology and transplantation, there is no title in the biomedical journals on the subject of nephropathology. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a readily and easily accessible medium for timely, efficiently, and widely disseminating this research for the benefit of nephrology and transplant community as a whole and especially clinicians involved in the care of transplant patients.
As a matter of fact, I was thinking for quite some time on this suggestion, and was excited when Professor Hamid Nasri floated the idea of this journal a couple of months ago. I responded to him in no time, which explains my enthusiasm with this adventure. There are several reasons for my extraordinary euphoria on this idea. Our group has published many papers in the recent past on the pathological aspects of the kidney diseases and we often found it quite difficult to publish our work in mainstream nephrology journal (7-12). The research from the third world countries receives lowest priority scores in international journals. Moreover, there are also issues of delay, cost, length of the article, access to the journals and so on (6). Many of the major journals also charge the authors for extra printed papers and the color photographs.
The scientific community in Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the forefront of biomedical research and publications. Many quality peer-reviewed journals are being published from Islamic Republic of Iran in the fields of nephrology, urology, and transplantation. As such, Islamic Republic of Iran is a proper place for the publication of this new journal on nephropathology. Against the backdrop of the above facts, the journal of nephropathology is the need of the hour (www.nephropathol.com). It is a welcome addition to the growing list of scientific journals, in general and journals related to the fields of nephrology and renal transplantation from developing countries, in particular. It will serve as both a reference source for innovative research and an educational tool for both the nephrologists and nephropathologists alike. It is truly an international journal as reflected by the origin of the members of editorial board. The journal also has associate editors from different parts of the world and will publish original articles, review articles, case reports, and practice guidelines relating to both the basic and clinical aspects of nephropathology. To start with, the journal will be published triannually; its frequency will be increased in the future. The journal welcomes articles from all over the world, with priority given to those articles originating from the third world countries.
Acknowledgments
None declared.
Conflict of interest
The authors declared no competing interests.
Funding/Support
None declared.
Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:
Nephropathology is a rapidly evolving field which is at the forefront of modern research because of the growing epidemic of kidney disease throughout the world. Kidneys also constitute the most common solid organs for transplantation in patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As a result, renal transplant pathology has similarly emerged as one of the leading domains of the subspecialty of nephropathology.
Please cite this paper as: Mubarak M. Journal of Nephropathology: A need of the hour.
J Nephropathology. 2012; 1(1): 1-3. DOI: 10.5812/jnp.1
References
- 1.Levey AS, Coresh J. Chronic kidney disease. Lancet . 2012;379(9811):165–80. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60178-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Federle MP. Milestones and future trends in solid organ transplantation. Radiol Clin North Am . 1995;33(3):417–34. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Racusen LC, Solez K, Colvin RB, Bonsib SM, Castro MC, Cavallo T. et al. The Banff 97 working classification of renal allograft pathology. Kidney Int . 1999;55(2):713–23. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1755.1999.00299.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Racusen LC, Colvin RB, Solez K, Mihatsch MJ, Halloran PF, Campbell PM. et al. Antibody-mediated rejection criteria - an addition to the Banff 97 classification of renal allograft rejection. Am J Transplant . 2003;3(6):708–14. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-6143.2003.00072.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Solez K, Colvin RB, Racusen LC, Sis B, Halloran PF, Birk PE. et al. Banff ‘05 Meeting Report: differential diagnosis of chronic allograft injury and elimination of chronic allograft nephropathy (‘CAN’) Am J Transplant . 2007;7(3):518–26. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2006.01688.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Karkar A. Towards efficient, broad and accessible electronic scientific publication. Journal of Transplantation Technologies & Research. 2011. [Google Scholar]
- 7.Mubarak M, Kazi J, Lanewala A, Hashmi S, Akhter F. Pathology of adolescent nephrotic syndrome: are adolescents different from young children? Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012;27 [Google Scholar]
- 8.Jafry N, Ahmed E, Mubarak M, Kazi J, Akhter F. Raised serum creatinine at presentation does not adversely affect steroid response in primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in adults. Nephrol Dial Transplant . 2012;27(3):1101–6. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfr430. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Mubarak M, Kazi JI, Naqvi R, Ahmed E, Akhter F, Naqvi SA. et al. Pattern of renal diseases observed in native renal biopsies in adults in a single centre in Pakistan. Nephrology (Carlton) . 2011;16(1):87–92. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1797.2010.01410.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Mubarak M, Kazi JI. Collapsing FSGS: a clinicopathologic study of 10 cases from Pakistan. Clin Exp Nephrol . 2010;14(3):222–7. doi: 10.1007/s10157-010-0275-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.F F, Aziz S, Bhatti S, Kazi JI. Pattern of pediatric renal disease observed in native renal biopsies in Pakistan. J Nephrol . 2009;22(6):739–46. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Mubarak M, Lanewala A, Kazi JI, Akhter F, Sher A, Fayyaz A. et al. Histopathological spectrum of childhood nephrotic syndrome in Pakistan. Clin Exp Nephrol . 2009;13(6):589–93. doi: 10.1007/s10157-009-0216-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]