New IACFS/ME Fatigue Journal

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Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 13:06:09 -0500From: Tate

& lt;tatemitchell@... & gt;Subject: NOT, RES: New IACFS/ME Fatigue Journal

New IACFS/ME Fatigue

Journalhttp://iacfsme.org/Portals/0/pdf/IACFSMEJournal_Letter_to_Membership_fina\

l.pdf

Dear Members and Colleagues,

On behalf of the board of directors of the International Associationfor Chronic

Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME), Ihave signed a contract

with a major academic publisher(Routledge/ and Frances) to launch a new

subscription-based peerreview journal titled: Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health and

Behavior. Thiswill be a quarterly publication with the inaugural issue scheduled

forrelease in January, 2013. There are no publication fees for authors.

CFS/ME and the New JournalThe mission of the IACFS/ME is to promote, stimulate

and coordinatethe exchange of ideas related to CFS, ME, and fibromyalgia

(FM)research, patient care and treatment. The board of directors believesthat

these challenging medical conditions will benefit from a journalthat, while

continuing to support research on CFS/ME and FM, alsoencourages thinking outside

the box of a particular disease orcondition.In support of this idea, major

advances in biomedicine have more oftenevolved from broad cross-disciplinary

collaborations in comparison tothe efforts of a single research laboratory. One

example: large scalecollaborations produced the central sensitization model of

pain in FMand other pain conditions -- which has led to new, more

effectivemedications for pain.Consistent with this multidisciplinary approach,

our new journalwelcomes all fatigue-related research and clinical approaches to

thetreatment of this often debilitating symptom. Scientific papers on allaspects

of CFS/ME are particularly encouraged and will be published inthis new journal.

We view side-by-side articles on CFS/ME and otherfatiguing illnesses as

facilitating comparisons and collaborativediscussions that could generate

innovative thinking and new directionsin research.In addition to collaborations,

the journal can better legitimizeCFS/ME by demonstrating that the life-altering

fatigue symptoms foundin well-recognized illnesses such as cancer and MS are

also a corefeature of CFS/ME. Rather than trivialization of fatigue as a

clinicalentity, our journal intends to elevate the symptom of fatigue to

animportant research focus and medical concern. Secondly, by publishinga journal

that encompasses a larger biomedical domain, fatigueresearchers and practicing

clinicians unfamiliar with CFS/ME and FMwill have greater exposure to these

understudied conditions in a highcredibility publication: a scientific peer

review journal.

A Brief HistoryUnfortunately, a CFS/ME-dedicated journal is no longer a

viableenterprise. The Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (JCFS) folded in2008

in part because it attracted only 400 subscribers worldwide andwas never indexed

on Medline. (If permitted by the past publisher,electronic copies of JCFS will

be made available on the IACFS/MEwebsite.) Our new journal is intended to

succeed based on its broadmultidisciplinary focus, eventual Medline listing, and

its backing bya major academic publisher.This new journal contract is the result

of four years of proposals,conferences, and negotiations with a number of

academic publishers.Gudrun Lange, PhD, a former board member and editor of the

IACFS/MEBulletin, played an important role in bringing about this new

journal.The entire board of directors is to be commended for facilitating

thisnew endeavor.

The First Fatigue JournalFatigue will be the first biomedical and behavioral

journal focused onfatigue. We believe that high quality contributions in the

area offatigue are more likely to be submitted to a journal that

clearlyrecognizes the importance of fatigue as a field of scientific study

aswell as a significant clinical concern. Not infrequently, submittedpapers on

fatigue (including CFS/ME) are not even sent out for reviewas editors often view

fatigue as outside the purview of theirjournal’s mission. This is

understandable given that no medicaljournal has a primary focus on fatigue.In a

sense, this new publication will be a prominent vehicle tofurther advance

fatigue as an important field of study. Given thatfatigue focused peer review

articles have increased almost 100% overthe past decade ( & gt;1000 published

papers in 2011 alone), we expect toattract some proportion of these papers to

our journal. With theguidance of our publisher, we plan to apply for Medline

indexing whenacceptance is likely. The publisher will promote, market,

andadvertise the journal to medical libraries, conferences, and

otherprofessional events worldwide.

Journal Aim and ContentOur aim for the new journal is to address the symptom of

fatigue inmedical illnesses, behavioral disorders, and specific

environmentalconditions. These broadly conceived domains, all housed in

onejournal, are intended to advance interdisciplinary research oncausation,

pathophysiology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Thecontent that we seek

includes original research papers, literaturereviews, data-based theoretical

papers, short reports, qualitativestudies, case studies, conference reports,

expert interactivecommentary, and letters to the editor.The list of topics

covered in Fatigue will encompass: fatigue indiseases including cancer,

autoimmune diseases, CFS/ME, multiplesclerosis (MS), pain conditions, mood

disorders, and circulatorydiseases. In addition, specific issues involving

fatigue in sleep,aging, exercise and sport, and occupations will be addressed.

Moregenerally, the journal will publish on the biology, physiology

andpsychosocial aspects of fatigue as well as diagnosis and treatment.We also

welcome new topics such as clinical fatigue education inmedical schools and

public health policy with respect to fatigue.Ultimately, we plan to develop

dedicated sections of the journal forspecific research and clinical areas such

as cancer and MS fatigue,CFS/ME, fatigue and sleep, fatigue and exercise,

fatigue and aging,occupational fatigue and athletic /sports fatigue.

Distinguished Editorial BoardAs an international journal, we have assembled a

distinguishededitorial board of fatigue scientists and clinicians from

NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia (Japan has its own professional fatiguesociety).

The journal will be administered by the IACFS/ME through thejournal editor

(Friedberg), editorial board, and the editorial staffwith an internet-based

submission and review process. Our peer reviewwill be a continuation of the

procedures used in our current journal,Bulletin of the IACFS/ME, which will

cease publication after a finalissue this summer. All past issues of the

Bulletin will continue to beavailable on the IACFS/ME website.

Submissions Now AcceptedWe have begun accepting manuscript submissions for next

year’sstart-up issues. If you would like to be part of this new endeavor,

wewelcome your submission. The journal’s new website (under development)now

contains author instructions and submission information:www.tandfonline.com/rftg

With best regards,

 Fred

Fred Friedberg, PhDPresidentInternational Association for Chronic Fatigue

Syndrome/MyalgicEncephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME)www.iacfsme.org

EditorFatigue: Biomedicine, Health and BehaviorJournal website (under

development): www.tandfonline.com/rftg

Email: Fred.Friedberg@...

Research Associate ProfessorXutnam Hall/South CampusStony Brook UniversityStony

Brook, New York 11794-8790USA

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