Introduction to the 80th Anniversary Issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Abstract

This issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences commemorates its 80th year of continuous publication of a journal originating as the American Journal of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition [1]. In honor of this special publication, the cover has been designed to resemble the initial issue published in 1934. The issue includes facsimiles of the first pages of five representative articles published in Volumes 1 and 2, which are included for our readers’ enjoyment [2–6]. Three of these articles are accompanied by a historical commentary. The more I have worked in the field of gastroenterology, the more I appreciate the history of medicine and, more specifically, the history of gastroenterology as a clinical field and as a science. Digestive Diseases and Sciences has a fascinating and varied history over its 80 years, from its early days as a small journal, to its recognition and a time when it was the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, to a time when its quality fell significantly, to its resurrection, and, ultimately, to its fine form and increasing quality that we know today. The articles chosen by our current and esteemed editorin-chief, Dr. Jonathan Kaunitz, represent some of the early clinical descriptions of disease and technology in gastroenterology, and in many ways are fascinating portrayals of the future of our field. They include a description of the early use of radiation to treat bacterial infection of the perianal area, resembling what is now known as Fournier’s gangrene, early descriptions of regional enteritis by Burrill Crohn himself, the technical description of the emerging use of rigid gastroscopy by none other than Rudolf Schindler, and an additional description of spastic colitis and what would later be called ‘‘irritable bowel’’. Reading these descriptions reminds us of the importance of astute and careful clinical observations, the meticulous and sometimes painstaking requirement of data collection that advances technology, and, in some ways, both how far we have come as a field and, in other ways, how much further we have yet to go. Reflecting on these descriptions and conditions, we certainly have become better at diagnosing these disorders and describing the associated syndromes, but we have yet to cure the inflammatory and functional condition described. We have cured many bacterial infections and have revolutionized the approach to such problems since these descriptions from the 1930s. There has been remarkable progress in endoscopic technology, yet the invited commentary by Drs. Leung and Gelrud suggests that technological advances may have stalled in recent years. I was invited to be an associate editor of Digestive Diseases and Sciences in 2008 by then editor-in-chief Dr. Emmet Keeffe. I remember the ’phone call from him as though it were yesterday. He was a man with vision and a man with a purpose, and I could not say ‘‘no’’ when he described his plans for this journal, which had in recent years waned in its success and popularity. It was an honor working with Dr. Keeffe and watching him resurrect this publication. I know he would be so proud were he able to see its ongoing success and the improvement in quality and impact factor that has been achieved in the last 5 years. I miss him and I know that the gastroenterology community lost a great leader to whom we are forever grateful. In the years that I have worked on this journal in the area of inflammatory bowel disease, I have witnessed the number and quality of submissions steadily increasing, and D. T. Rubin (&) University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA e-mail: drubin@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu