Practical Neurology - Article types

Practical Neurology section types: 2008 Almost all the content for Practical Neurology is commissioned – but, if you are interested in writing for the journal please contact the editorial office. Professor Charles Warlow University of Edinburgh Department of Clinical Neurosciences Western General Hospital Crewe Road Edinburgh EG4 2XU United Kingdom email: cpw@skull.dcn.ed.ac.uk We pay authors Ł10 per published page for each article Practical Neurology is a highly illustrated journal and we encourage authors to provide suitable figures, algorithms and background illustrations where possible (see Advice for authors for information on formats)

Editorials There is one editorial in each issue, usually signed. It is often written by one of the editorial board and addresses a burning issue of relevance to neurologists - therapeutic, political, social, ethical, economic, etc. These editorials reflect our international aspirations and must not be narrowly parochial. Max 800 words and 4 references
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Reviews These are the meat of the journal with 2 or 3 major reviews in each issue. They are authoritative, evidence-based, standalone articles that are definitive and up to date [at least for a while]. Ideally based on systematic reviews of the evidence, they are not in themselves "Cochrane style" systematic reviews. They are firmly directed at the practising neurologist and should be educational rather than dusty guidelines. Where there is no evidence to support a course of action do not be shy to say so. When something seems common sense or is based on experience, then again we should not be afraid to say so rather than dress it up in bogus pathophysiology. Whatever else the reviews are practical in the sense of being useful to the ordinary neurologist seeing ordinary patients in ordinary clinical practice. They should elicit the exchange over coffee: "have you seen the great review on … in Practical Neurology?" 4000 to 5000 words, no more than 40 references
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Contemporary neurological dilemmas Here we ask an author to look at all sides of the evidence, or two authors to take opposing views of a neurological situation where there is no standard answer. Any debate should be as evidence-based as possible; however, a leap in the dark is probably required. And, given the dilemma, what does the author actually do in practice? Max 3000 words and 15 references
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Therapeutic interventions These are articles on new, and not so new, therapeutic interventions - drugs, surgical procedures, etc. We may want to combine a neurologist with another expert such as a pharmacologist or interventional radiologist; authors need to be in the front-line of treating patients. These articles are critical and systematic, use meta-analyses where available, and yet provide sensible advice, avoiding the sense of gleeful nihilism that can sometimes permeate for example, Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. We keep an eye on the Cochrane Library looking for reviews that could be simplified and re-written in our style to help the readers of Practical Neurology. Max 2000 words and 10 references
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How good at neurology are you? Multiple choice questions based on simple cases with images – scans, angiograms, histology, fundal photos etc Max 1500 words for questions and answers
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Neurological letter from.. The model is the late Alistair Cook's "Letter from America" where the trick is to pick on some recent event or topic of interest, and discuss it in a light but serious way. The letter will be literary or political rather than scientific. It should appeal to the general reader who might like to know more of neurology and neurological things in other parts of the world. Maybe having read the letter the neurologist might even be tempted to go there. The most successful letters are not a list of how many neurologists and magnetic resonance scanners there are, or are not, in a particular place but more to do with the practice of neurology, and what makes it interesting or unique in a particular place. Max 800 words A photograph or two is an important touch
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Carphology The word means "the movements of delirious patients, as if searching for imaginary objects, or picking the bedclothes" (Oxford Dictionary) (karphos = straw, legeln = collect). These are short paragraphs, bits and pieces of this and that—for example, snippets of gossip, results of major trials presented at meetings, etc. Max 800 words
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How to do it The point is in the title - evidence-based, practical and sensible tips from people who know what they are doing. How they do it, in every day practice, and why they do it that way. Max 2000 words and 2 suggestions for further reading
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How to understand it The point is in the title – we are looking for brief articles by experts to explain simply the sorts of thing that neurologists should know something about but often don't—for example: meta-analysis, PCR, Doppler ultrasound. Max 2000 words and 2 suggestions for further reading
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Neurological sign Here we ask people to write about a physical sign (or symptom): what it indicates, how to elicit it, its validity, sensitivity and specificity, observer variation, etc Max 1500 words and 2 reference
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What neurologists need to understand outside their own speciality Neurologists interact with many other specialists who order tests and do things that can be as mysterious to us as our tests and activities are to them. Here we try and demystify some of the more relevant things that are sometimes done on our "neurological" patients. What are they done for? How are they done? What are the risks? What is their usefulness? Max 3000 words and 4 references
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Neuroimaging Well illustrated helpful articles for neurologists on imaging strategies - and the relevant anatomy - for various places (eg, the carotid bifurcation), diseases (eg, cerebral vasculitis) or that tell a story in pictures (eg, tuberous sclerosis). These articles are not for radiologists but for neurologists who may want to look at their own x rays and who will certainly want to discuss them sensibly with their neuroradiological colleagues. Max 3000 words and 8 references
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Clinicopathological conference These are taken from – among other places - the Edinburgh Advanced Clinical Neurology Course. They are fairly straightforward verbatim accounts, put together by the contributors. They must have an answer to the diagnosis in the pathology, which might be a biopsy or better an autopsy. Max 4000 words and 10 references
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A difficult case We come across these cases all the time in our routine practice. Here we ask a neurologist to describe a real and difficult case, what the problems are, and how it should be managed. The difficulty might be in the diagnosis, management or both. For example, a patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome who does not respond to plasma exchange or intravenous immunoglobulin. These cases should have an instantly recognisable real life feel to them. If necessary, we will get a comment from an expert in the area under discussion. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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Neurological rarities An unkind alternative title is "anorak corner". The idea here is to succumb to neurologists' fascination with rarities and to have short articles on diseases that we should know about but may never see. They could be based on real cases with a discussion of pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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A paper, book, or conversation that changed my practice This should have the same effect as a patient that changes practice. We are looking for an account of a paper, book or conversation that was, in some way, a revelation to the author and how it changed the way he or she now does things. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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My neurological hobby horse Here we invite people to write about something in and around clinical neurology that constantly irritates them. A message they have to go and on sending to persuade others of the errors of their ways. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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Ask the expert About 10 clinically relevant questions will be put to an expert in a particular condition and he or she should answer these in a straightforward and practical way. A distinction should be made between answers based on evidence, common sense, anecdote or experience. Max 3000 words and 1 reference/question
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Ethical issues Here we explore contemporary ethical issues, maybe comparing the viewpoints of patients with neurologists and adding in some dimension of international variation in approach. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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Medicolegal column It is interesting to have occasional articles on medicolegal issues, both in general (eg, whip lash injury) and describing individual cases which are illuminating to the general neurologist. We must avoid being parochial, any international variation in law is well worth exploring. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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The history of neurology Occasional short articles on matters of historical interest are always interesting and instructive. We are not just into the dates of Kings and Queens, but want to be more analytical. So, not just when did things happen, but who was responsible, what were the consequences, lessons for the present, etc. We might also consider publishing facsimiles of classic papers (eg, the first successful carotid operation by Felix Eastcott in the Lancet 1954). Max 1500 words and 2 references
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A guide to guidelines There is a proliferation of guidelines and we may have occasional articles to guide people through the jungle. Max 800 words and references only to the guidelines
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Book reviews Rather than ask people to review a particular book we will usually review particular topics from time to time under the rubric "Best books in….." for example stroke, or for medical students. Max 1500 words
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Neurological web A part or whole page filler on a useful website for neurologists, describing what it has to offer and how best to use it. Max 800 words
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Image of the moment Here we are looking for attractive, interesting and illuminating clinical photographs, perhaps of a physical sign, a fundus, some imaging etc. These are arranged in a collage above a paragraph or two describing a case, or the disorder Max 500 words and 2 references Up to 4 high quality photographs
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Art and neurology An exploration of the relation between art (in its broadest sense, not just painting) and neurology—for example; this might be to do with neurological disorders in great artists. It is particularly important that the author sorts out any copyright issues. Max 1500 words and 2 references Highly illustrated
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Literature and neurology An exploration of the relation between literature (in its broadest sense, not just novels) and neurology. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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Me and my neurological illness It is incredibly illuminating to hear a patient's own account of their illness, particularly if they have the insight of an expert, or are in some way well known (media, politician, writer, etc). We ask people we know who have had, or have, some sort of neurological illness to contribute something to make us all better doctors. Max 800 words and 2 references
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Today's ward round The idea here is to describe an interesting case, and what the author learned in the discussion about it (from the resident or the nurse) or what the author taught the resident or nurse. Max 1500 words and 2 references
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From the retired A slightly facetious – but serious - idea to ask retired neurologists to muse on the past and how it compares with today. Topics of interest might be changes in neurological treatment (arsenic for syphilis), changes in disease understanding (CJD from degeneration to epidemic), changes in patient expectations (paternalism to consumerism), changes in training (osmosis to the lecture theatre), changes in clinical meetings (hushed reverence to cheeky interruptions), and so on. Was the past as 'golden' as it seems now? Max 800 words and 2 references
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