Editorial

Abstract

Beginning its 7th year in print, The Journal of Pain, official journal of The American Pain Society, continues to thrive. We have arranged with our publisher for ongoing growth in coming years as The Journal advances in impact, and in response to escalating research interest in pain medicine, pain therapies, and palliative care.As The Journal matures, the number of submissions continues to increase. The past year (2005) saw a rise of about 25%. The Journal continues to expand internationally, with about 47% of submissions coming from outside the United States. Unique among its contemporaries is the balance between original clinical reports and original basic science reports (∼60% and ∼25% of submitted papers, respectively).The number of published pages has continued to increase each year. Approximately 840 pages were published in 2005 (Vol 6), our first year of monthly publication, and the number of pages published will increase again in 2006. Yearly comparisons show The Journal’s acceptance rate is consistently around 40%.A highlight of this volume is the introduction of Case Studies in Pain, a new feature in The Journal. This feature is intended to provide to readers scientific and clinical knowledge in a case study format. Reports will describe the clinical course of an individual with a common or complex pain syndrome, and scientists, clinicians, and others with pertinent expertise will offer commentary about the case.I am very pleased that Judy Paice, PhD, RN, Northwestern University Medical School, will serve as editor for the new Case Studies in Pain feature. Dr. Paice will consider cases submitted for development into full features. In this issue, Dr. Paice launches this feature using a case she developed, soliciting commentaries from authors Gary Bennett, Daniel Carr, Mary Cianfrocca, Sarah Flatters, Theresa Gillis, Ewan McNicol, and Valerie Relias. This feature will appear with increasing regularity as cases are developed and submitted. You are encouraged to submit suggestions for case studies and may contact Dr. Paice ( [email protected] ) or The Journal’s Editorial Office ( [email protected] ). When you submit cases for consideration, it will be helpful to suggest individuals, including yourself, from which to solicit commentaries on the case.Readers will also notice several new design elements this year. The cover will now include electronic submission information, in addition to website link information for ScienceDirect, an electronic platform that provides access to more than 7 million journal articles, including those from The Journal of Pain. ScienceDirect is owned by Elsevier, which publishes The Journal on behalf of the American Pain Society. The title pages of published manuscripts have also been revamped to offer a cleaner look, and author affiliation information has been more conveniently placed.The electronic submission and review system has been in use for more than a year now (http://ees.elsevier.com/jpain). Feedback has been very positive and our statistics show that referees complete their work a bit faster using the online system, which contributes to timely results for authors, and articles accepted for publication can be viewed online up to 2 months before they are distributed in print form. This feature is available at http://www.jpain.org/inpress.Much of The Journal’s success can be traced to our dedicated reviewers (who are gratefully acknowledged at the back of this issue), Editorial Board members, and Advisory Board members. In 2006, The Journal welcomes 7 new editorial board members: Debra Gordon, Jennifer Haythornthwaite, John Lefebvre, Jianren Mao, Ke Ren, Kathleen Sluka, and Beverly Thorn. We also say farewell to Michael Ferrante and William Maixner, long-time board members who have made enormous contributions. The Editorial Board will continue to expand as new appointments are made to accommodate the increasing number of diverse submissions. Beginning its 7th year in print, The Journal of Pain, official journal of The American Pain Society, continues to thrive. We have arranged with our publisher for ongoing growth in coming years as The Journal advances in impact, and in response to escalating research interest in pain medicine, pain therapies, and palliative care. As The Journal matures, the number of submissions continues to increase. The past year (2005) saw a rise of about 25%. The Journal continues to expand internationally, with about 47% of submissions coming from outside the United States. Unique among its contemporaries is the balance between original clinical reports and original basic science reports (∼60% and ∼25% of submitted papers, respectively). The number of published pages has continued to increase each year. Approximately 840 pages were published in 2005 (Vol 6), our first year of monthly publication, and the number of pages published will increase again in 2006. Yearly comparisons show The Journal’s acceptance rate is consistently around 40%. A highlight of this volume is the introduction of Case Studies in Pain, a new feature in The Journal. This feature is intended to provide to readers scientific and clinical knowledge in a case study format. Reports will describe the clinical course of an individual with a common or complex pain syndrome, and scientists, clinicians, and others with pertinent expertise will offer commentary about the case. I am very pleased that Judy Paice, PhD, RN, Northwestern University Medical School, will serve as editor for the new Case Studies in Pain feature. Dr. Paice will consider cases submitted for development into full features. In this issue, Dr. Paice launches this feature using a case she developed, soliciting commentaries from authors Gary Bennett, Daniel Carr, Mary Cianfrocca, Sarah Flatters, Theresa Gillis, Ewan McNicol, and Valerie Relias. This feature will appear with increasing regularity as cases are developed and submitted. You are encouraged to submit suggestions for case studies and may contact Dr. Paice ( [email protected] ) or The Journal’s Editorial Office ( [email protected] ). When you submit cases for consideration, it will be helpful to suggest individuals, including yourself, from which to solicit commentaries on the case. Readers will also notice several new design elements this year. The cover will now include electronic submission information, in addition to website link information for ScienceDirect, an electronic platform that provides access to more than 7 million journal articles, including those from The Journal of Pain. ScienceDirect is owned by Elsevier, which publishes The Journal on behalf of the American Pain Society. The title pages of published manuscripts have also been revamped to offer a cleaner look, and author affiliation information has been more conveniently placed. The electronic submission and review system has been in use for more than a year now (http://ees.elsevier.com/jpain). Feedback has been very positive and our statistics show that referees complete their work a bit faster using the online system, which contributes to timely results for authors, and articles accepted for publication can be viewed online up to 2 months before they are distributed in print form. This feature is available at http://www.jpain.org/inpress. Much of The Journal’s success can be traced to our dedicated reviewers (who are gratefully acknowledged at the back of this issue), Editorial Board members, and Advisory Board members. In 2006, The Journal welcomes 7 new editorial board members: Debra Gordon, Jennifer Haythornthwaite, John Lefebvre, Jianren Mao, Ke Ren, Kathleen Sluka, and Beverly Thorn. We also say farewell to Michael Ferrante and William Maixner, long-time board members who have made enormous contributions. The Editorial Board will continue to expand as new appointments are made to accommodate the increasing number of diverse submissions.