Looking Forward to Saying Goodbye to COVID-19 and a Step Forward
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation is not over yet, and we are not yet out of the crisis.
A new ray of hope, however, is emerging as we step into the New Year. We are looking forward to a return to normal life, with an ample supply of improved vaccines and supported by the knowledge and experience of COVID-19 that we have accumulated over the past 3 years.
Even in this challenging environment, International Neurourology Journal (INJ) had some achievements worth celebrating this year.
First, last month we were able to successfully publish, as planned, a supplement on the topic of epigenetic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases [1-6]. Several of these excellent papers dealt with the effects of epigenetic regulation on gene expression and the functional changes in specific brain regions that arise in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease. Through the publication of relevant supplements, we have been able to present excellent papers every year involving collaboration with researchers in other fields, especially basic research in neurology. This kind of effort is unique to INJ, and I think it is something we should be proud of in comparison to other academic journals.
INJ is also publishing 2 superb review articles in the last issue of the year. One systematically summarizes the results of the applications of artificial intelligence in the field of urology, which has recently shown explosive growth and attracted great interest [7]. The other is a review article on oxidative stress and its relationship to lower urinary tract symptoms; this basic research continues to be of paramount importance, equivalent to that of clinical research or technological advances [8].
Next year, we will go a step further, continuing our efforts to collaborate and publish research papers on various areas of interest to the readers of INJ.
Second, we had the opportunity to organize a presentation on the history of INJ in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Korean Continence Society (KCS) [9]. Through this work, INJ was able to look back on the worthwhile efforts made for the journal’s development. We were also able to find areas for improvement in the current status of the journal. For example, it was found that readers viewed the value of clinical research as less than that of basic papers and research of an outstanding level. Therefore, in the New Year, INJ will focus more effort on discovering and publishing superb studies in the clinical field.
Next year, INJ definitely wants to say goodbye to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted for 3 years. We also hope that INJ can take a step forward with the journal’s readers and members of the KCS, which celebrated its 30th birthday, in order to become a better academic journal.
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Conflict of Interest
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.