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Multiple Sclerosis

Instructions for authors

Editorial policy

Multiple Sclerosis, focuses on the aetiology and pathogenesis of demyelinating and inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system and on the application of such studies to scientifically based therapy. Articles describing studies of Multiple Sclerosis and related diseases are particularly welcome. In addition, reports of experimental work relevant to Multiple Sclerosis but based on in vivo and in vitro studies, are encouraged. Within these limits, a diversity of approach is acceptable an submissions are encouraged from those working in the following areas. clinical neurology, epidemiology, genetics, glial pathobiology and myelin repair, immunology, molecular biology, myelin chemistry, neuroimaging, pathobiology of the blood brain barrier, pathology, therapeutics, virology.

Multiple Sclerosis publishes original research articles, concise case reports illustrating important points, review articles, topical comment and critical reviews of scientific meetings and of the latest books. A special rapid communications section allows short articles of significant interest to be published rapidly.

Editorials, reviews and topical comments.
Such materials will be solicited by the Editors but suggestions for topics or brief outlines of proposals are very welcome.

Rapid communications and case reports.
The editors will consider for rapid publication both rapid communications and case reports that illustrate important points. Theses should not exceed two printed pages in length, should have a short summary of no more than 100 words and should have no more than 10 references.

Data previously published in unreviewed format
The Editors will also consider for publications manuscripts containing data already in press elsewhere or published previously in unreviewd format, such as abstracts or camera ready papers for proceedings of scientific meetings. The new manuscript should differ from the one previously published and should not contain any identical tables or figures. It will be the responsibility of the senior author to bring to the Editor’s attention details of previous publication sand if necessary to enclose relevant photocopies for the use of referees. The existence of such related paper(s) (published or in press) should be mentioned as a footnote to the manuscript or documented with appropriate references. The editorial decision will take account of the originality of the work submitted for publication and the extent to which readers of Multiple Sclerosis may be expected to have access to the book or journal in which the associated papers have appeared.

Refereeing
Papers will be sent for anonymous review by at least two referees, who will either be members of the Editorial Board or others of similar standing in the field. A manuscript will be considered for publication on the understanding that all named authors have agreed to it submission and that if accepted it will not be published later in the same or similar form in any language without the consent of the publishers. The Editors’ decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into concerning manuscripts considered unsuitable for publication in Multiple Sclerosis.

Manuscripts
Submit the original and three photocopies (including the figures and if halftones are present, duplicate glossy photos). Include the telephone number and fax number of the corresponding author. Related papers either published or in press may be sent with the manuscript for the attention of the Editor. Authors will be asked before publication to assign the world copyright of their manuscript to Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Therefore all manuscripts submitted must be accompanied by a signed statement that the article is original, is not under consideration or has not been previously published elsewhere. The assignment of copyright will not affect subsisting patent rights or arrangements relating to them. Submission of a manuscript will be taken to imply that authors have obtained permission form their employers or institution to publish, if they have a contractual or moral obligation to do so. Manuscripts should be packed flat and be securely protected. The Editorial Board is unable to accept responsibility for loss or damage to submitted papers. Referees’ copies of papers, original illustrations from accepted papers and copies of associated papers for review will not be routinely be returned to authors unless specifically requested when returning proofs.

Submission of electronic versions of revised manuscripts is encouraged after conditional acceptance. Full instructions for formatting and preparing disks to meet typesetting requirements will be sent direct to authors on request. The disk should incorporate any revisions required by the Editors and should be accompanied by three hard copies of the corresponding final paper version, in one of which the revisions should be highlighted.

General presentation and style
All textual material must be in English printed on one side of the A4 or American quarto paper. All sections of the manuscript should be double-spaced with generous margins and numbered (title page is 1). Underline only words or letters to appear in italics. Please indicated an approximated position for each figure and table clearly in the margin. Manuscripts stand a better of change of being accepted, and if published read, if they are concisely and clearly written. Manuscripts which are excessively long or with a disproportionate number of figures may be returned for shortening. While authors are asked to write their manuscripts using an easily comprehensible style, editorial assistance for authors not completely fluent in English may be available. Spelling and phraseology should conform either to standard English or to standard American usage and should be consistent throughout the paper (eg haematological, leukaemia, centre or hematological, leukemia, center.)

Sections of the manuscript
Research papers and rapid communications but not case reports, letters or reviews should normally be subdivided into the following sequence of sections: Title page, Summary , Introduction, Materials (or patients or animals) and methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Figure legends.

Title page
The title should be concise, with no abbreviations. The surname and initials of each author should be followed by his or her department, institution, city, postal code and country. Any changes of address may be given in numbered footnotes. The author(s) to whom proofs are to be addressed should be indicated. Please provide 6-8 keywords (chosen from Index Medicus, Medical Subject Headings if possible). Provide a running title of no more than 50 characters. Ensure that this page also carries a contact telephone number, a fax number and if available, an e-mail address.

Abstract
The second page must contain only the abstract, which should be a single paragraph not exceeding 200 words. The abstract must be clearly written, actual and comprehensible to readers before they have read the paper. Abbreviations should be avoided and reference citations are not permitted.

Introduction
The introduction should assume that the reader knowledgeable in the field and should therefore be as brief as possible.

Materials and methods
Methods that have been published in details elsewhere should not be described in detail. Avoid unnecessary detailed descriptions to widely used techniques. SI Units should be used throughout the text. Reports of experiments involving patients and healthy volunteers must demonstrate the steps taken to obtain consent and to maintain confidentiality. Experiments involving animals must conform to accepted ethical standards.

Acknowledgements
These should be included at the end of the text and not in footnotes. personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies.

References
Only references closely related to the author’s work should be listed and these should be confined to published articles or those accepted for publication and in press. Citation of submitted manuscripts, unpublished data and personal communications should be avoided but if essential, they should be cited parenthetically in the text thus (Tanaka JA., pers. comm.). In such cases, the authors must obtain permission from the data owner to quote his or her unpublished work.

References in the text should appear as superscript Arabic numbers (not in parentheses) outside puncuation. In the reference list references should be ordered by number, not alphabetically. Journal abbreviations should conform to those in the latest edition of Index Medicus. All authors should be quoted for papers with up to four authors; for papers with more than four authors use one author and et al. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references.

Examples of references

1. Millar JHD. (1971) Multiple Sclerosis, a disease acquired in childhood. CC Thomas: Springfield, Illinois.
2. Tsukada N, Matsuda, M, Miyagi K, Yanagisawa N. (1993) Cytotoxicity of T cells for cerebral endothelium in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Sci 117: 140-147.
3. Sadovnick AD et al. (1993) A population -based study of multiple sclerosis in twins: update. Ann Neurol 33: 281-285.
4. Martyn C. (1991) The epidemiology of multiple sclerosis. In Matthews WB (ed.). McAlpine’s multiple sclerosis, 2nd ed. Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh pp 3-40.
5. Frances G. (1993) Large focal tumor-like demyelinating lesions of the brain. Ann Neurol 34: 871 (Letter).

Tables
Tables should be typed on separate pages and numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Tables should be self-explanatory and include a brief descriptive title. Footnotes to tables indicated by lower case letters are acceptable, but the should not include extensive experimental details.

Illustrations
All illustrations (line drawings, graphs and photographs) should be referred to in the text as Figure 1, etc. Indicate the top edge and write the name of the first author, manuscript title and the figure number lightly in soft pencil or attached typed self-adhesive label on the back of all copies of each figure. On the manuscript indicate with an arrow in the margin, the most appropriate position for the figure. Line drawings and graphs should be provided as clear sharp prints, suitable for reproductions as submitted. Please bear in mind that figures are often reduced in size when appearing on the printed page. Allowance for this should be made when selecting text and symbol size. Symbols and keys should be given as a key on the artwork, not in the legend. Photographs should be unmounted glossy prints of sufficient high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand some reduction and the inevitable loss of contrast and details inherent in the printing process. Please mark prints which should be used for reproduction thus: printer’s copy. Colour plates (submitted as colour prints for review and as either prints or as transparencies for reproduction) are possible but expensive and will be subject to a special charge which will be notified to the author at the time of acceptance. Authors who require a particular arrangement of their photographs should submit a separate mounted set. Lettering on line drawings or photographs should be undertaken by authors, using Letraset or other professional aids to ensure clarity and uniformity. The magnifications should be indicated by a scale bar on the photograph, not as a magnification factor in the legend.

All four copies of the manuscript must include photocopies of the figures, grouped on A4 pages, to enable the referees to obtain an overview of the paper. If, as is likely be the case for halftone illustrations (in particular, electron micrographs or CT or MR images), these photocopies are insufficiently clear for the referees to see the detail, the author should, in addition, submit extra glossy prints.

Units, symbols and abbreviations
For detailed advice refer to the guidelines in Baron, DN (1988). Units symbols and abbreviations, 4th edn. (Obtainable from the Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole street, London W1M 8AE, UK). Note that the SI system of units is preferred. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the readership and to avoid confusion, the number of abbreviations in the text should be kept to a minimum. Standard abbreviations, acceptable without definition are limited to the following: CNS (central nervous system); CSF (cerebrospinal fluid); DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid); HLA (human leukocyte antigen; MRI (magnetic resonance imaging); CT (computerised tomography; MS (multiple sclerosis); RNA (ribonucleic acid). Non-standard definitions must be defined in full at their first usage in the abstract and again at their first use in the text.

Proofs
Authors are provided with page proofs which should be read carefully for typographical errors. Extensive alterations should not be made, as changes in proof cause delay and considerable expense. All such costs incurred will be charged to the authors. Corrected proofs must be returned to the publisher within 48 hours of receipt. Major alterations cannot be accepted at this stage. The principal author must also complete and return to the publisher the completed copyright assignment form and offprint order form enclosed with the proofs.

Offprints
Twenty-five offprints will be supplied free of charge to the principal author. Additional offprints may be ordered on the form accompanying the proofs. The charges are necessarily higher if orders for reprints are received after the issue has gone to press.

Editorial office
Manuscripts and other editorial correspondence should be submitted to the nearest of the three regional editors; Editor-in-Chief

Professor Donald Silberberg
Department of Neurology
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
1007 Blockley Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA
Tel: +1 215 898 0283
Fax: +1 215 662 3353
E-mail: silberbe@mail.med.upenn.edu

Professor Alan J Thompson
University Department of Clinical Neurology
Institute of Neurology
Queen Square
London WC1N 3BG
UK
Tel: +44 20 7837 3611
Fax: + 44 20 7813 6505

Professor Claude CA Bernard
Neuroimmunology Laboratory
School of Biochemistry and Genetics
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Melbourne, Victoria 3083
Australia
Tel: +61 394 79 21 48
Fax: +61 394 79 24 42

Business correspondence and enquiries relating to advertising, subscriptions, backnumbers or reprints should be addressed to the relevant person at Nature Publishing Group, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, UK. Tel: + 44 1256 329242. Fax: + 44 1256 810526

Last Updated 21 March 2001