About Practical Neurology
Launched in 2002, Practical Neurology® is uniquely dedicated to presenting current approaches to patient management, synthesis of emerging research and data, and analysis of industry news to facilitate practical application of recent advances in neurology and improve clinical practice for all neurologists. We have a distinguished medical editorial board and implement a medical peer-review process.
Practical Neurology is an open-access journal. All content is freely available online without needing to subscribe to or register for the journal. There are no article-processing fees or other charges to publish in Practical Neurology. Issues are published 9 times per year with a U.S. circulation in print to over 18,000 physicians.
Our Mission
To provide concise practical reviews of recent advances in the field to help neurology professionals provide the best possible clinical care using up-to-date information.
What We Publish and How It May Be Used
Practical Neurology publishes review articles, case reports, news, and interviews and welcomes submissions from around the world. No author or article-processing fees are charged. All submissions are subject to our peer-review processes. Published materials are available online to all users and may be shared freely. Commercial reuse requires permission.
SUBMISSIONS AND PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Practical Neurology welcomes anyone working on neurologic conditions to submit articles and case reports for consideration of publication. Suggestions for news and interviews are welcome. Any questions or suggestions and all submissions should be sent to PNEditorial@bmctoday.com.
Case Reports and Challenge Case Reports
Every issue includes at least 1 case report. A challenge case report is distinguished by presenting the case without diagnosis, including multiple-choice questions, and answering the questions in the discussion. A double-blind peer-review of all cases is done by at least 2 members of the editorial board or their designees. Members of the board may encourage and/or participate in submission; when that occurs, those board members do not participate in the review process. Case reports and challenge case reports must follow a standard outline detailed in the preparation checklists. Cases that cover a rare neurologic condition or an unusual presentation are preferred.
Practical Neurology requires acknowledgements of funding support or conflicts of interest that are applicable to the case report. As per the recommendations of the CARE guidelines, Practical Neurology requires that authors obtain informed consent from the patient(s) described and encourages inclusion of a paragraph from the patient(s) providing their perspective on their case. Informed consents form may be from your own institution, or you may use the one here. To protect privacy, the consent form should be kept on file by the author(s) and should not be sent to the journal; rather, a statement that informed consent was obtained should be made on the title page.
To further protect the privacy of the patient, they should be referred to in a gender-neutral manner, with biologic sex given only when it is relevant to the case, and they should be referred to with randomly generated initials.
We encourage you to submit your interesting cases!
Challenge Case Report Checklist for preparation can be downloaded here.
Case Report Checklist for preparation can be downloaded here.
Cover Focus Articles
Each issue of Practical Neurology has a cover-focus topic, for which articles are invited and reviewed by a guest medical editor for the issue. When needed, a second review may be done by a member of the editorial board. The cover focus for each issue presents a topic within a particular subspecialty of neurology (eg, epilepsy or movement disorders) or an area of neurology that crosses subspecialties (eg, neuroimaging). When a submitted article fits into a cover-focus topic, it is sent to the guest editor to review and consider for inclusion. Cover-focus articles are full length reviews of 4 to 5 print pages. A checklist for preparation of can be downloaded here.
Special Reports
Most issues of Practical Neurology include a special report. These stand-alone articles cover topics in smaller and important areas of neurology. Submitted review articles that do not fit a cover focus will be considered for a special report. All special reports undergo double-blind peer review by appropriate members of the editorial board or experts recommended by the board. Special reports may be 4 to 8 pages; if longer than 6 pages, they will be split into parts and published in multiple issues. The checklist for preparing cover focus articles should be followed.
Columns
Every issue includes multiple columns on subspecialty areas outside the cover focus. Recent advances, diagnostic and treatment principles, and controversies are covered in a 2- to 4-page review. Column editors may write and/or invite contributions and are responsible for the review of invited and submitted contributions. As needed, members of the editorial board may also participate in the review process. We encourage anyone who wishes to submit a column to communicate with the column editor before submission by contacting PNEditorial@bmctoday.com. A checklist for preparation of columns can be downloaded here.
News and Interviews
Practical Neurology reports on neurology news and conducts interviews of individuals involved in advances and breakthroughs. All neurology news and interviews are written by Practical Neurology staff, and submissions will not be considered, although topic suggestions are welcome. Press releases and alerts of neurology news are welcome and should be sent to PNEditorial@bmctoday.com.
Editorial Policies
Practical Neurology maintains the highest standards for publishing integrity and follows the recommendations of the International Committee on Medical Journal Editing (ICMJE).
All authors must include a disclosure statement that provides any potential conflicts of interest. When a potential conflict of interest is disclosed, the print edition will refer the reader to the online edition where it appears in full. When authors state they have no potential conflicts to disclose, that will be clearly stated at the end of the article in print and online.
All peer reviewers are required to excuse themselves from the process when they have a potential conflict of interest.
We encourage authors to clearly state the roles and responsibilities of each author and require that it be stated explicitly when 2 or more authors contributed equally to a submission.
Authors are required to attest that they have obtained informed consent from patients when they incorporate or publish details of actual cases in their works.
Contributors give copyright and publishing rights to Bryn Mawr Communications and, like all users, are free to access and distribute the material for individual and educational use at no cost. Commercial reuse is not allowed without permission.
Any questions or concerns about the editorial policies of Practical Neurology or how these policies have been implemented should be directed to the Publisher, Wendy Terry, at wterry@bmctoday.com.
ADVERTISING POLICIES
Publication of advertisements in Practical Neurology does not imply endorsement. Advertisers and sponsors do not have advance knowledge of editorial content other than article title and authorship until final preprint proofs are available. We may, but are not obligated to, share preprint proofs upon request. Editorial decisions are made without influence by advertisers or sponsors and are kept separate from advertising content.
Practical Neurology reserves the right to reject or exclude advertising copy which in our opinion is deceptive, detrimental to the public interest, illicit, fraudulent, inappropriate or incompatible with the character of Practical Neurology, misleading, offensive, unethical, or unfair. Practical Neurology does not allow advertising that misrepresents, ridicules, discriminates (real or implied), or attacks an individual or group on the basis of age, national origin, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any protected class or other status.
Advertorials for Practical Neurology may be accepted and published. These are clearly marked as advertisements and have the appropriate company logo included within. Advertorials are designed with a clearly distinct look that differentiates them from editorial content.
Advertise With Us
For rates and opportunities, please contact Wendy Terry a wterry@bmctoday.com
Editorial Board
The content of Practical Neurology is guided by an esteemed board of professionals from all areas of neurology.