The New Brain Pathology

Correspondence:

Arie Perry, M.D.
Division of Neuropathology,
 Campus Box 8118
Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110‐1093
Ph: 314‐362‐7426
Fax: 314‐362‐7765
E‐mail: aperry@wustl.edu

Dear Reader,

Change is in the air. As we rapidly approach our 20^th anniversary, Brain Pathology begins an important new chapter by advancing from quarterly to bimonthly publications, beginning in January of 2010. As mentioned in my last “Dear Reader” section (1), this is one of several corrective actions taken in response to a recent “growth spurt” that has led to prolonged delays in the print versions of accepted manuscripts when publishing only 4 issues per year. Along with increased page allotments, we now anticipate that the bimonthly schedule will quickly reverse this trend. Nonetheless, to mark our transition into the latest era of our journal's history, you will soon notice a fresh new cover appearance for our upcoming volume 20 and I hope you will enjoy the symbolic rebirth. As is probably true of most editors when first discussing an expansion from 4 to 6 issues with the publisher, I approached the issue with a guarded mixture of excitement and apprehension. I was fully aware that in order to preserve our hard earned reputation of excellence, we would need to maintain a high volume of quality submissions, attracting even more of the best authors in an ever increasingly competitive environment. Despite this challenge, I remain entirely confident in our decision and am pleased to report that our journal is as vital and healthy as ever, with recent updates including the following:

• —  2008 impact factor (IF) of 5.576 (2006–7 citations) and 5‐year IF (2003–7 citations) of 5.259, ranking us 1^st of 7 neuropathology, 3^rd of 68 pathology, 11^th of 156 clinical neurology, and 28^th of 219 neuroscience journals.
• —  Rapid review times. Using electronic submissions/reviewing/editing and conscientious efficient senior editors and reviewers, we are currently averaging 17 days to first decision and 31 days to final decision.
• —  Recently shortened e‐pub times. Our journal website recently added the category of “Accepted Articles”, which provides a proof PDF within 5 working days of acceptance. After final editing, an electronic version is posted in the “Early View” section. In this way, e‐pub versions are made widely available and PubMed ID numbers are assigned as soon as possible.

In summary, change is in the air and the changes are for the better. With this “new wind blowing”, I strongly encourage you to avail yourself of our improved services and as always, invite you to submit your best work to Brain Pathology.


Arie Perry