The American Journal of Hematology turns 40
Authors: Carlo Brugnara
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2015)

My first recollection of the American Journal of Hematology goes back to my years as a medical student at the University of Verona, Italy. AJH was part of a small library in the “Istituto di Patologia Medica”, together with NEJM, Lancet, BMJ, BJH, and Blood. The library was next to the office of Prof. Giorgio De Sandre, and with the permission of the assistants of the “professore”, I could from time to time sneak into the library and read some of these journals, AJH included and get my first glimpse at medical publishing. We are now celebrating the 40th birthday of the American Journal of Hematology with a special issue, of the journal, edited by Dr. Ayalew Tefferi. The issue includes an Editorial from the founding Editor Dr. Ananda Prasad and several invited manuscripts covering a variety of topics in Hematology and Oncology. We will continue to publish special invited 40th anniversary reviews throughout 2016. It is interesting to read the editorial from Dr. Prasad “Why a new hematology journal” which was published in the first issue in 1976 (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajh.2830010102/abstract). The raison d'être for AJH has not changed in these 40 years, and remains that of providing a forum for good quality and clinical relevant material, as well as basic science which is translationally relevant, as both original papers and focused reviews. The journal celebrates this birthday in a great shape, with a constantly increasing number of submission, an acceptance rate below 20%, and increasing impact factor. Editorial board now comprises equal number of men and women with a strong international component. Our regular featured Annual Updates in Hematological malignancies, edited by Dr. Ayalew Tefferi now comprises 21 topics, allowing us to publish an update every two years. The top five downloads for AJH in 2014 and 2015 were all Annual Updates, on Myeloma (10,032), Myelodysplastic Syndromes (9,330), Polycythemia Vera (8,285), Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (6,654) and Eosinophilic Disorders (6,061). We have started a new feature, Updates in Clinical Trials for Hematological Diseases, with the publishing in October 2015 of the article on therapies for sickle cell disease. The purpose of this type of article is to provide a comprehensive update on current and recently concluded Phase 1, 2, 3 trials for a specific disease as well as highlight key developments at the preclinical stage. Updates on clinical trials for hemophilia and thalassemia will be published in 2016. We continue to publish Test of The Month and Solving Clinical problems in Blood Diseases and we invite readers to continue contributing to these features. The journal has been fortunate to have the exceptional and unparalleled contributions of Dr. Barbara Bain: we are happy to celebrate in 2016 a milestone with the publication of 100 Morphology Updates since 2007. Role of prothrombin complex concentrates in reversing warfarin anticoagulation: A review of the literature By: Leissinger, Cindy A.; Blatt, Philip M.; Hoots, W. Keith; et al. 2008; 83:137-143 (160 Citations) Guidance on the emergent reversal of oral thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors By: Kaatz, Scott; Kouides, Peter A.; Garcia, David A.; et al. 2012; 87:S141-S145 (160 Citations) Constitutive neutrophil apoptosis: Mechanisms and regulation By: Luo, Hongbo R.; Loison, Fabien. 2008; 83:288-295 (115 Citations) What is the potential for overdiagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia? By: Lo, Gregory K.; Sigouin, Christopher S.; Warkentin, Theodore E. 2007; 82:1037-1043 (110 citations) The risks and benefits of long-term use of hydroxyurea in sickle cell anemia: A 17.5 year follow-up By: Steinberg, Martin H.; McCarthy, William F.; Castro, Oswaldo; et al. 2010; 85:403-408 (106 citations) The success of the journal is made possible by an extremely dedicated team: I would like to thank Hillary Bixby, Kate Perry, Molly Ferns, Janette S. Mabanan at Wiley and Thomas Manbeck and Ranjani Karthikeyan at Cenveo for their hard work in meeting tight publication deadlines and producing impeccable articles.