{"paper_id":"96ed7b60-94cb-4a58-a21d-370f0e08199a","body_text":"BioMed Central\nPage 1 of 2\n(page number not for citation purposes)\nJournal of Ovarian Research\nOpen AccessEditorial\nWelcome to Journal of Ovarian Research\nStefano Palomba*1, David T Curiel2, Sham S Kakar3 and Fumikazu Kotsuji4\nAddress: 1University \"Magna Graecia\" of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, Catanzaro, Italy, 2Gene Therapy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, \nBirmingham AL, USA, 3University of Louisville, Louisville KY, USA and 4University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan\nEmail: Stefano Palomba* - stefanopalomba@tin.it; David T Curiel - curiel@uab.edu; Sham S Kakar - sham.kakar@louisville.edu; \nFumikazu Kotsuji - kotsujif@u-fukui.ac.jp\n* Corresponding author    \nIn the last few years interest in the normal physiology and\ndisease pathology of the ovary has increased. A search of\nbibliographical records carried out without limits for lan-\nguage and type of article, inserting only \"ovary\" as a key\nword, produced a total number of 101,414 published arti-\ncles, of which 3,040 were published last year.\nSuch studies have been disseminated to a diffuse subset of\njournals, which handle studies related to the ovary but are\nnot specialized on the subject. In fact, presently, there is\nno journal dedicated to covering the extensive research\ncarried out into ovarian functions and possible interac-\ntions with other systems regulating the correct function of\nthe female organism. On this basis, it has been difficult to\ngain a full view of the overall progress and to appreciate\nthe associations within the fields that could predicate pro-\nductive linkages. As for the case of five blind men and the\nelephant, a larger understanding of the field's evolution\nhas remained elusive owing to focused studies, reported\ndiversely, which ignored the fields' expansion in its\nentirety.\nThe need to launch a new journal having ovarian biology/\npathology (gender physiopathology) as its only field of\ninterest was a consequence of these considerations.\nAccordingly, Journal of Ovarian Research aims to face open\nquestions in ovarian biology/pathology using experimen-\ntal, translational and clinical approaches.\nThe journal will certainly cover research relevant to the,\nalready well-known, reproductive functions of the ovary.\nIn addition, in the last few years, interesting research has\nbeen carried out with the aim to investigate the function\nof the ovary as an endocrine organ; one must consider the\nintricate signalling networks at ovary level mediated by\nvarious paracrine and endocrine factors regulating follicu-\nlar growth and hormone secretion. Studies in this area will\nbe welcomed by the journal.\nResearch in the area of ovarian cancer is also of great inter-\nest. In demonstration of increasing interest on the subject\nis the creation of ultra-specialised centres for diagnosis\nand treatment of ovarian cancer. Due to the specific famil-\niar and genetic traits of ovarian cancer, various studies\nhave been conducted on possible risk factors and innova-\ntive therapies. In particular, in the last few years numerous\nstudies have been carried out to investigate the role of\nbenignant pathologies in the risk of ovarian cancer, such\nas endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Some\nstudies seem to indicate hormonal therapy for menopause\n(hormone replacement therapy, HRT) and drugs for ovu-\nlation induction (clomiphene citrate and gonadotropins)\nas possible factors, which increase, through unclear mech-\nanisms, the risk of ovarian cancer. On the other hand,\namong the non-contraceptive benefits of estroprogestin\ncompounds, an oncological protective effect on ovarian\ntissues was acknowledged.\nLastly, but no less important, in the last few years various\nexperimental in-vitro and animal model studies have been\npublished on topics such as molecular intraovarian regu-\nlation, and regulation from other organs; possible onco-\ngenetic mechanisms; drug effects; the possibility of oocyte\ncryoconservation; autologous and heterologous ovarian\ntissue transplant and the use of staminal cells. All these\nhypotheses and experimental results, which presently\nPublished: 1 October 2008\nJournal of Ovarian Research 2008, 1:1 doi:10.1186/1757-2215-1-1\nReceived: 18 September 2008\nAccepted: 1 October 2008\nThis article is available from: http://www.ovarianresearch.com/content/1/1/1\n© 2008 Palomba et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. \nThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), \nwhich permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.\n\nPublish with BioMed Central   and  every \nscientist can read your work free of charge\n\"BioMed Central will be the most significant development for \ndisseminating the results of biomedical research in our lifetime.\"\nSir Paul Nurse, Cancer Research UK\nYour research papers will be:\navailable free of charge to the entire biomedical community\npeer reviewed and published immediately upon acceptance\ncited in PubMed and archived on PubMed Central \nyours — you keep the copyright\nSubmit your manuscript here:\nhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/info/publishing_adv.asp\nBioMedcentral\nJournal of Ovarian Research 2008, 1:1 http://www.ovarianresearch.com/content/1/1/1\nPage 2 of 2\n(page number not for citation purposes)\nseem futuristic, and, in some cases, peculiar, could have,\nin the following years, a remarkable clinical implication.\nJournal of Ovarian Research will therefore provide an\nonline open access home for research that provides new\ninsights into ovarian functions as well as prevention and\ntreatment of diseases afflicting the organ. The Editorial\nBoard is composed of international experts from various\nscientific fields. Authors should submit their manuscripts\ndirectly online via the journal's website. Manuscripts will\nbe reviewed by expert referees and we aim to give a first\ndecision within six weeks from submission. Articles\naccepted for publication will be published immediately\nonline, ensuring a fast and efficient process.\nObviously, we are still at the beginning of this ambitious\nscientific-editorial enterprise, and we recognize that with\nthe profusion of new journals, it may be an inauspicious\ntime for launching a new enterprise of such specialized\nscope. However we hope the journal will become a high\nquality forum for researchers in the field and will be\nindexed rapidly, reaching an adequate impact factor in the\nnext few years. Moreover, we hope that the journal will be\nof support to international scientific societies offering\nample availability to widespread congress proceedings,\nguidelines and integrated strategies in research.\nConcluding, we hope that this new journal becomes a sta-\nble point of reference for researchers in the field of ovarian\nresearch. A Japanese proverb holds that \"One's most\nimportant task in life is to become a useful person\". The\ntask of Journal of Ovarian Research therefore is to become a\nuseful vehicle for our community of investigators.","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}