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The passing of the baton
The passing of the baton George A. Beller, MD I am proud and humbled to be following in the footsteps of Dr Barry L. Zaret, the founding Editor in Chief of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. I am indeed grateful to the Publications Committee of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) for giving me the opportunity to succeed Dr Zaret and become the second Editor in Chief of the Journal, a journal that has enjoyed immense success in its first 11 years of existence. I and my associate editors—Denny D. Watson, David K. Glover, Sanjiv Kaul, Robert O. Bonow, and Marcello F. Di Carli—pledge to sustain the high quality of the original articles, reviews, and editorials published in each issue. Dr Jeffrey A. Leppo has graciously consented to remain on the editorial staff as editor of the “Nuclear Cardiology News Update” section. The field of nuclear cardiology has progressed to its current state of expanded applications and usage in a variety of situations where scintigraphic results are utilized for clinical decision making, yielding patient outcomes that improve detection of disease and enhance survival and quality of life while being cost-effective. More recently, nuclear cardiology variables are accepted as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials (eg, single photon emission computed tomography [SPECT] infarct size) or are being used as part of entry criteria for clinical research studies and multicenter trials such as the INSPIRE (adenosINe technetium-99m Sestamibi singlephoton emission computed tomography Post-InfaRction Evaluation) trial, in which stable patients with postinfarction ischemia are being randomized to invasive strategies versus maximal medical therapy. To attain this type of clinical research application, reliability, reproducibility, and quantitation of scan data are required. Much information has been presented at national meetings or published in recent years suggesting the role of SPECT or positron emission tomography as a “gatekeeper” for referral for invasive strategies. Variables such as the magnitude and extent of stress-induced hypoperfusion, the extent of defect reversibility (ischemic defect size), the presence of transient ischemic cavity dilation, the presence of extensive postischemic stunning, and the amount of viability in dysfunctional myocardial regions are now routinely used in the clinical J Nucl Cardiol 2004;11:1-2. Copyright © 2004 by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. 1071-3581/2004/$30.00 ⫹ 0 doi:10.1016/j.nuclcard.2003.11.001
setting for identifying the high-risk coronary artery disease subsets of patients who may benefit from early referral to coronary angiography with a view toward coronary revascularization. Conversely, patients with normal or low-risk scan findings are reassured of a good prognosis and are medically treated. In this issue of the Journal, we commence with a new series of reviews/ essays entitled “Major Achievements in Nuclear Cardiology,” which will highlight this technical and clinical progress that the field has enjoyed in its maturation over the past 30 years to its current status. These reviews will include the citing of needs for the future that can be met by further advances in instrumentation, computer software, radiopharmaceutical development, and new clinical applications. Despite the great progress made to date in nuclear cardiology, the field cannot stand still. The era of molecular imaging has arrived, with the promise of being able to noninvasively assess in vivo normal and abnormal biologic processes involving the heart and vascular system at the molecular level by use of imaging probes labeled with radioisotopes. Targeted imaging of such molecular events at the cellular level may permit detection of preclinical or asymptomatic disease in patients with risk factors (atherosclerotic plaques), progression of established disease (myocardial cell death in congestive heart failure), impending disease complications (eg, vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques), or monitoring new disease therapies (eg, angiogenesis and gene therapy). At the present time, cardiology is behind oncology in the development of molecular imaging probes, and molecular imaging using other technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging and myocardial contrast echocardiography, is rapidly advancing. We will be introducing another new series of solicited reviews in the Journal beginning with the March/ April issue, entitled “From Bench to Imaging,” that will summarize recent advances in both nuclear and nonnuclear molecular imaging approaches. This series is a natural extension of the wonderful series of reviews provided by experts in basic science fields and edited by Drs Jagat Narula and Heinrich R. Schelbert in prior issues of the Journal, entitled “Topics in Molecular Biology.” The Journal will continue to serve as a forum for new imaging approaches that, together with the field of proteomics/biomarkers, are expected to expand the noninvasive identification of abnormal biology that is reflective of early disease or early progression or regres1
2
Beller The passing of the baton
sion of disease manifestations. The Journal wants to attract submission of original articles dealing with research in molecular imaging. It is anticipated that the Journal will become a vehicle for influencing industry to develop new radiolabeled molecular probes. The Journal should advocate for young investigators to pursue their basic and/or clinical research activities in nuclear molecular imaging. The Journal, itself, will be making some transformations—the main one being the introduction of fully online submission and review of manuscripts. The Journal’s Web site will be made more robust with new features for authors, reviewers, and readers. In summary, ASNC and the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology will strive to further enhance the already
Journal of Nuclear Cardiology January/February 2004
high quality of content in the Journal and continue the tradition of publication excellence established by Dr Zaret, the visionary founding Editor in Chief. We will uphold the standards of the peer-review process and provide timely, fair, and helpful critiques to authors. We hope to shorten even more the time from manuscript submission to return of the first reviews with the editorial decision. The time from the last resubmission of a manuscript to publication will be as short as possible considering the Journal is published only every other month. The Journal needs the support of the nuclear cardiology community and its industry partners to continue to grow and be the principal forum for further achievements and advances in this exciting field of noninvasive imaging.
setting for identifying the high-risk coronary artery disease subsets of patients who may benefit from early referral to coronary angiography with a view toward coronary revascularization. Conversely, patients with normal or low-risk scan findings are reassured of a good prognosis and are medically treated. In this issue of the Journal, we commence with a new series of reviews/ essays entitled “Major Achievements in Nuclear Cardiology,” which will highlight this technical and clinical progress that the field has enjoyed in its maturation over the past 30 years to its current status. These reviews will include the citing of needs for the future that can be met by further advances in instrumentation, computer software, radiopharmaceutical development, and new clinical applications. Despite the great progress made to date in nuclear cardiology, the field cannot stand still. The era of molecular imaging has arrived, with the promise of being able to noninvasively assess in vivo normal and abnormal biologic processes involving the heart and vascular system at the molecular level by use of imaging probes labeled with radioisotopes. Targeted imaging of such molecular events at the cellular level may permit detection of preclinical or asymptomatic disease in patients with risk factors (atherosclerotic plaques), progression of established disease (myocardial cell death in congestive heart failure), impending disease complications (eg, vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques), or monitoring new disease therapies (eg, angiogenesis and gene therapy). At the present time, cardiology is behind oncology in the development of molecular imaging probes, and molecular imaging using other technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging and myocardial contrast echocardiography, is rapidly advancing. We will be introducing another new series of solicited reviews in the Journal beginning with the March/ April issue, entitled “From Bench to Imaging,” that will summarize recent advances in both nuclear and nonnuclear molecular imaging approaches. This series is a natural extension of the wonderful series of reviews provided by experts in basic science fields and edited by Drs Jagat Narula and Heinrich R. Schelbert in prior issues of the Journal, entitled “Topics in Molecular Biology.” The Journal will continue to serve as a forum for new imaging approaches that, together with the field of proteomics/biomarkers, are expected to expand the noninvasive identification of abnormal biology that is reflective of early disease or early progression or regres1
2
Beller The passing of the baton
sion of disease manifestations. The Journal wants to attract submission of original articles dealing with research in molecular imaging. It is anticipated that the Journal will become a vehicle for influencing industry to develop new radiolabeled molecular probes. The Journal should advocate for young investigators to pursue their basic and/or clinical research activities in nuclear molecular imaging. The Journal, itself, will be making some transformations—the main one being the introduction of fully online submission and review of manuscripts. The Journal’s Web site will be made more robust with new features for authors, reviewers, and readers. In summary, ASNC and the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology will strive to further enhance the already
Journal of Nuclear Cardiology January/February 2004
high quality of content in the Journal and continue the tradition of publication excellence established by Dr Zaret, the visionary founding Editor in Chief. We will uphold the standards of the peer-review process and provide timely, fair, and helpful critiques to authors. We hope to shorten even more the time from manuscript submission to return of the first reviews with the editorial decision. The time from the last resubmission of a manuscript to publication will be as short as possible considering the Journal is published only every other month. The Journal needs the support of the nuclear cardiology community and its industry partners to continue to grow and be the principal forum for further achievements and advances in this exciting field of noninvasive imaging.