Manuscript requirements

Journal Style

Current Therapeutic Research expects manuscripts to conform to the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (the Vancouver style; N Engl J Med. 1997;336:309–315 or www.icmje.org). Reports of randomized controlled trials should conform to the CONSORT guidelines (www.consort-statement.org). A diagram illustrating the flow of participants through the trial is required. A copy of our tips for authors is available on request.

All manuscripts should be typed double-spaced, with the pages numbered. The title of the paper, followed by the full names of the authors; their highest academic degrees (eg, MD) and professional affiliation; and complete contact information, including mailing address, phone, fax, and e-mail address of the corresponding author, should appear on the title page only. If any material contained in the manuscript has been presented at a meeting, the full name, location, and inclusive dates of the meeting should appear on the title page; this information will be published if the article is accepted. A sponsored database would classify as a clinical trials registry, which would not be considered duplicate publication. Posting in this database does not exclude publication in the journal. We would request, however, that mention be made to the posting in the manuscript and the registry number of the posting should be included after the abstract.

Language Services

Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre-submission, please visit http://www.elsevier.com/locate/languagepolishing for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods, or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information, please refer to our Terms & Conditions.

Authorship

As stated in the Uniform Requirements (see above), credit for authorship requires substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript or critical revision for important intellectual content; and final approval of the version to be published. At time of submission, Current Therapeutic Research requires the responsible author to sign a statement that he or she accepts full responsibility for the conduct of the trial, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish. The author of a review article must sign a statement that he or she approved the search terms, article selection, and manuscript outline, and accepts full responsibility for all conclusions drawn. Any change in authorship after submission must be approved in writing by all authors.

Financial Disclosure

Authors are required to disclose, in writing, any financial interests (eg, employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options other than mutual funds, honoraria, expert testimony) in the materials or subject matter dealt with in the manuscript. (Please consult the Uniform Requirements.) The information on this form may be published at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Manuscript Components

Original Research
Papers are to be organized as follows:

1. Structured abstract (300 words or less), followed by 4 to 6 key words for indexing
2. Introduction
3. Patients and methods
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. Acknowledgments
7. References
8. Tables
9. Figures

Review Articles
Comprehensive reviews and meta-analyses of the literature are welcomed. Authors should contact one of the editors to discuss the topic area to avoid duplication with previously submitted or accepted manuscripts. For more information about what constitutes a good review see CP Mulrow (The medical review article: State of the science. Ann Intern Med. 1987;106:485–488) and AD Oxman et al. (User’s guide to the medical literature. VI. How to use an overview. Evidence-based medicine working group. JAMA. 1994;272:1367–1371).

The review should include an accurate, succinct title; a structured abstract; an introduction that specifies the purpose of the review; methods section that identifies the databases that were searched, search terms used, and inclusion/exclusion criteria for identified articles; an assessment of the validity of reviewed studies; and a summary that includes future directions for studies in this area.

Abstract: 300 words
Text: 3500-4000 words
References: 75
Tables/Figures: 4–5

Consensus Statements
These papers are guidelines developed by an independent panel of experts within the stated specialty and are based on the current state of knowledge in that area. The submission should include an unstructured abstract; an introduction clearly describing the objective, member selection, and development of the panel; details of how opinions were formalized (including how disagreements were addressed); a fully-referenced description of each recommendation; a comprehensive conclusion; acknowledgment of financial and editorial support including detailed conflict of interest statements from all parties involved in the panel and manuscript creation; and references.

Abstract: 300 words
Text: 5000 words
References: 80
Graphics: 6

Brief Reports
These papers are reports of preliminary clinical investigations that are narrowly focused or provide limited findings. The submission should include an accurate and succinct title, a structured abstract, an introduction that specifies the importance of the study, a methods section, results, a discussion, a conclusion, and references.

Abstract: 250 words
Text: 2000–3000 words
References: 30
Tables/Figures: 3

Case Reports
New or unusual events in one or more patients that provide significant information about adverse drug reactions, drug–drug interactions or drug–disease interactions. The types of case reports generally include unique cases, unexpected associations, or unexpected events. Data regarding suspected adverse drug reactions should provide a description of the event, details regarding the implicated medication (purpose, when initiated), previous adverse drug reactions with similar drugs, effects of dechallenge or rechallenge, and treatment for the reaction. Please do not submit cases purporting to establish drug efficacy. The report should be factual, concise, logically organized, and clearly presented. In the case of adverse drug events, please use the Naranjo ADR probability scale to determine the likelihood that the events were drug-related (Naranjo CA, et al. A method for estimating the probability of adverse drug reactions. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1981;30:239–245).

The report should include an accurate, succinct title, a structured abstract, an introduction, case description, discussion, conclusions, and references. A table or figure may be included. The introduction should announce the subject and purpose of the report, including statements of why the case is important and how the literature search was performed. The case description should include a narrative account of the case with brief, pertinent clinical, laboratory, and medication information. The discussion should comment on evidence that the case is new or unusual and consider possible alternative explanations for case features. The conclusion should provide a summary of the adverse drug reaction–medication relationship, how to treat it, and how to avoid it.

For more information about what constitutes a good case report, see Vandenbrouke JP. In defense of case reports and case series. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:330–334 and DeBakey L and DeBakey S. The case report. I. Guidelines for preparation. Int J Cardiol. 1983;4:357–364.

Abstract: 150–200 words
Text: 1500 words
References: 15
Tables/Figures: 1

Research Letters
These are planned or follow-up subgroup analyses of previously published randomized trials. Alternatively, research letters can present novel research that may stimulate further investigation or alert readers to clinically relevant but preliminary findings. The submission should include an accurate and succinct title; an unstructured abstract; an introduction that specifies the rationale for the study, beginning with a statement similar to “This communication provides…”; the body of the letter, describing the methods, results, and conclusion; and references.

Abstract: 100 words
References: 15
Text: 1000–1500 words
Graphics: 2

Drugs should be referred to by their universally accepted generic names, not by company trademarks. US adopted names (USANs) are acceptable. Footnotes and uncommon abbreviations should be avoided whenever possible. When abbreviations or symbols are used, they should be defined in the text the first time they appear as well as in the tables and figures. Any material that has been published elsewhere must be accompanied by written consent from the original author and publisher for print and electronic reproduction.

Acknowledgments

Financial Disclosure Policy:
Authors are required to disclose, in writing, any financial interests (eg, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony) in the materials or subject matter dealt with in the manuscript. (Please consult the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.”) This information may be published at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Financial or material support of the research or project must be listed in an acknowledgment.

Manuscript Preparation:
Any contributions to the research or assistance in manuscript preparation by persons other than the authors must be acknowledged in this section.

References

The accuracy of all references cited is the responsibility of the author. References should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text and the full references listed in the corresponding order at the end of the text. Data on file and material that has been “submitted for publication” should not be included in the references.

Journal Articles:
References to journal articles should include the last names and initials of the authors; full title of the article; full title of the journal, underlined (or italicized); year of publication; volume number; and inclusive pages of the article. For example:

Smith HL, Wright JK, Cherry JD. Influenza virus infections in infants. Lancet. 2002;23:230–239.

Books:
References to books should include the last names and initials of the authors and/or editors; chapter title; book title, underlined (or italicized); edition number; place of publication; publisher; year of publication; and inclusive pages. For example:

Nicholson KG. Human influenza. In: Nicholson KG, Hay AG, Webster RG, eds. Textbook of Influenza. Boston, Mass: Blackwell Science; 2002:219–264.

Web sites:
References to a Web site should include its name, article title, web address, and date the Web site was accessed. For example:

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). 1996 statistics at a glance [HCFA Web site]. http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/stathili.htm. Accessed December 2, 1996.

Tables

Each table should be prepared in Microsoft Word and inserted after the references. Each table should:

1. be referred to in the text;

2. be numbered in the order of appearance;

3. include a short, descriptive title; and

4. be printed on a separate page.

Figures

Figures should be created in Adobe Illustrator and submitted on disk or electronically (.pdf or .eps format); photographs and photocopies are not usable. Figures submitted in any other format may be redrawn, and authors will be responsible for the accuracy of the new illustrations. Hard copies of figures should be inserted after the tables for verification, with arrows indicating the top of the figures where needed.

Each figure should be:

1. referred to in the text;

2. numbered in the order of appearance; and

3. printed on a separate page.

A numbered list of short, descriptive figure legends should be included at the end of the paper. The author is responsible for any additional fees for color illustrations.

File Formats

Both mail and electronic submissions should adhere to the following file formats:

Microsoft word [PC/Mac] (.doc)

• Cover letter
• Contact information for all authors/coauthors
• List of submission contents
• Manuscript, double-spaced, 12-pt Arial font
• Tables

Adobe PDF (.pdf) or Adobe Illustrator EPS (.eps)

• Figures

Cover Letter

Please include:

• Title, authors, number of pages, numbers of tables and figures
• Indication that the paper has been read and approved by all authors
• Description of how each author contributed to the manuscript and others who may have assisted
• Name of the Special Section in which the paper is to be included, if applicable
• Information about any previous presentation of the data (eg, at a specific meeting)
• Information about the existence of any closely related manuscripts that have been submitted for simultaneous consideration to the same or another journal
• Notice of any interests that might be seen as influencing the research (eg, financial interest in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research, etc)
• A copy of the permission granted to reproduce or adapt any copyrighted material from another source or a notice that permissions are pending