{"id":18,"date":"2016-05-01T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/lsm\/?p=18"},"modified":"2017-11-21T14:48:30","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T14:48:30","slug":"lupus-awareness-month-and-lupus-science-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/lsm\/2016\/05\/01\/lupus-awareness-month-and-lupus-science-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Lupus Awareness Month and Lupus Science & Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupus, SLE, or \u201csystemic lupus erythematosus\u201d is a disease that affects millions of people worldwide, a disease that strikes mostly women in all age groups including adolescents and young adults, a disease that can cause chronic or recurring symptoms from many different parts of the body, a disease that can be treated to some extent, but it cannot be cured \u2013 and yet it is a disease that most people do not know much about. That\u2019s why as Editors of the journal\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em><\/a>\u00a0we are delighted that the Lupus Awareness Month<\/a> initiative has been taken in the hope of gaining a greater understanding of lupus among the larger public.<\/p>\n

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Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em>\u00a0is a peer-reviewed, open-access medical-scientific publication, so it is one of many journals that exist to disseminate the results of medical research to the large community of researchers and health professionals.\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em>\u00a0was founded by the Lupus Foundation of America<\/a> in recognition of the importance of having a platform for the rapid dissemination of important new scientific data from all the different fields of research having to do with this disease. For this reason, and in a partnership with the highly respected BMJ Publishing Group, the peer-reviewed open access model of publishing was chosen.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeer-reviewed\u201d refers to the system whereby each contribution is reviewed by experts in that particular field, so as to ensure that the contributions are as factual and accurate as possible. This is a feature that\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em>\u00a0shares with the vast majority of medical scientific journals. The \u201copen access\u201d feature is somewhat more novel and different, in the sense that most journals originated at a time when you would get a printed version of the journal delivered by mail to those who subscribed, whether they be individuals or libraries. However, in this age most information is disseminated using digital technologies, and the \u201copen-access\u201d way of publishing takes that one step further: as is the case for\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em>, there is no printed journal but everything is immediately available to anyone through the internet.<\/p>\n

At\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/em>, we enthusiastically embraced this concept, and since the start of our journal, more than 100 manuscripts have been submitted for publication, of which we were able to accept almost half. The journal has gained in recognition, as is witnessed by the numbers of views and downloads, presence in the social media, and mentions. Most importantly, we are pleased that we have been able to publish very good quality research, studies that are expected to make a real difference in how patients with lupus will be treated in the future.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of how research published in\u00a0Lupus Science & Medicine<\/a><\/em>\u00a0may change the prospects for patients with lupus in the future.<\/p>\n