Prospects of Congenital Anomalies

Abstract

Congenital Anomalies, the Official Journal of the Japanese Teratology Society (JTS), has been published quarterly since 1963. The 40th Commemorative Anniversary Edition was published in 2001 (Vol. 41, no. 1). The mission of the Journal is to clarify the etiology, mechanisms and pathogenesis of abnormal development and birth defects, and to develop diagnoses and treatments for these abnormalities. Furthermore, the Journal aims to address prevention for the purpose of relieving humans of these congenital anomalies. I took over as editor of this journal from Dr Mineo Yasuda in 2000. We have edited 29 issues over seven years, including one supplement: the Proceedings of the International Federation of Teratology Societies (Vol. 40, Supplement, 2000). Congenital Anomalies has been registered with PubMed/Medline since 2002 and has been published by Blackwell Publishing since 2004, replacing Shiba Print Co., Hamamatsu. The number of JTS members has decreased recently. The reason for this reduction is not necessarily a lack of interest in studying subjects in this field, because congenital malformations continue to be observed at the same ratio. Recently, the academic field has become more specific, especially in genetics and neuroscience. Furthermore, researchers have been divided between clinical and basic medicine. It is important to recommend researchers who are working in fields related to congenital malformation to join the JTS. Recently, the academic activities of the JTS have been emphasized. For that purpose, it is important to emphasize the roles of the Annual Meeting of the JTS and Congenital Anomalies. For the Annual Meeting, attractive and up-to-date subjects should be proposed for special lectures and symposiums as incentives for members to attend. The number of original presentations from members should be increased. It is necessary to have more active discussions after the presentations to promote researchers to improve their work and to encourage interdisciplinary surnameorations: one of the features of this society. Recently, it has become an attractive option for the Committee for Future Projects of the JTS to actively give advice on the Annual Meeting program from a comprehensive viewpoint, instead of leaving the program entirely to the President of the meeting. Congenital Anomalies should also encourage the academic activity of the JTS. It is important to publish interesting papers after their presentation at the annual meetings of the JTS. For this purpose, active discussions during meetings and appropriate and educational review processes will help to improve the quality of papers. It is important for the members to be involved in editing activities as peer reviewers. Although Congenital Anomalies is registered on PubMed/Medline and is now being published by Blackwell Publishing, the number of submitted papers from abroad has not increased markedly, especially from North America and European countries. We would like to invite high-level articles by recommending the submission of papers with attractive hypotheses to foreign researchers with whom the members have worked or surnameorated. Congenital Anomalies is one of only two journals in the field of birth defects or teratology, together with Birth Defect Research, the Official Publication of the Teratology Society in North America. We sincerely hope that impact factors will be given to Congenital Anomalies in the near future for more international orientation. Compared with Birth Defect Research there have been very few articles in Congenital Anomalies concerning epidemiological studies on birth defects in Japan. Before final extensive studies in Japan, it is important to establish a system to survey comprehensive data from districts or prefectures in Japan, although the system has already been established in some regions. We hope that long-term survey studies will appear in the future. Recently, it has been recognized that environmental clues like infection or endocrine stress during fetal development may influence the health conditions of adults, including psycho-neural, endocrine and immunological disorders. These aspects may be included in longitudinal studies. Another important role of Congenital Anomalies is to promote studies on congenital malformation in Asian countries. For this purpose, the JTS should take the initiative to establish the Asian International Society of Congenital Anomalies. We should encourage researchers in Asian countries to submit papers on epidemiological studies to Congenital Anomalies, even if they are within small districts in these countries. Dr Hiroki Otani, Professor of the Department of Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, will become the new Editor-in-Chief from the next issue (Vol. 47, no. 1, 2007). I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Editorial Board and the reviewers for supporting the publication of Congenital Anomalies. I also thank Ms Machiko Totsuka, Secretary of the Editorial Office, for her excellent management over the past seven years.