Stroke: 30 years of progress.

In 3 decades, Stroke has evolved from a fledgling publication to the leading journal in the field. Many factors have contributed to this, particularly the succession of outstanding editors in chief. We begin a series on “Stroke: 30 Years of Progress,” wherein each editor recalls the highlights of his tenure, providing a unique view of the past 3 decades (see page 3 for Dr Millikan’s editorial). I shall conclude the series with an article on “Stroke: The Next 30 Years,” an attempt to glimpse into the future. The current editors began receiving new manuscripts on July 1, 2000, while Dr Mark Dyken, José Biller, MarieGermaine Bousser, and Hermes Kontos continued to deal with the manuscripts that they had received before that date. We thank them and the Editorial Board warmly for their willingness to serve past their term. This issue’s masthead lists the new editors and Editorial Board. Several assistant editors have been named, to broaden expertise and divide labor. Section editors will ensure that developments in their areas are highlighted in Stroke so that all important publications or developments related to stroke will be either published or commented on in our journal. We will be publishing quarterly summaries of systematic reviews on stroke from the Cochrane Library. The most clamoring issues will be tackled in a new section dealing with controversies. In the short term, we aim to introduce new features without reducing the number of original publications or increasing the number of pages. We are decreasing the word limit for articles from 6000 to 5000 words and introducing “Research Reports” of 1500 words and 15 references. We are offering seminars on “Writing for Stroke.” The first one took place at the 4th World Stroke Congress in Melbourne, Australia, on November 25, 2000. The goals are 3-fold: to offer guidance in scientific writing, to familiarize participants with Stroke policies, and to learn how the journal can best serve their needs, always keeping in mind that Stroke is published for the readers. We aim to build on the reputation that our predecessors earned for the journal. We begin with our ideas but would also like to hear yours. Let us know.