Instructions for Authors

Editorial Policy

Neuropediatrics will consider the publication of articles on pediatric neurology and related clinical or basic science disciplines if the clinical or experimental results bear on the field of pediatric neurology. The language of the journal is English.
Manuscripts are selected for publication according to assessment by the Editorial Board and reports from at least two independent referees. Authors may suggest three referees but not from their own institution. The journal reserves the right to edit the language of accepted papers for clarity and correctness, and to make formal changes to ensure compliance with Neuropediatrics style. Authors have an opportunity to review any such changes in the proofs. The Editorial Board reserves the right to make the final decision on acceptance, and also to return manuscripts without reviewing if they do not conform to the subject or style of Neuropediatrics. The decision of the Editorial Board is final.
Manuscripts written by authors whose first language is not English should be checked by an English native speaker before submission. Manuscripts which do not meet acceptable language standards will be returned to authors.
Manuscripts are accepted on the condition that they be contributed exclusively to Neuropediatrics, are not under consideration elsewhere, and that the results have not been published previously other than in abstract form. The corresponding author must declare that the manuscript is submitted on behalf of all authors. Copyright belongs to the publisher upon acceptance of the manuscript. Submission of a manuscript signifies acceptance of the journal's Guidelines for Authors.

 

Submission of Manuscripts

Manuscripts can be submitted exclusively via online submission at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/neuped or via link at http://www.thieme.de/neuropediatrics. Hard copy submission and electronic submission via email will not be accepted. See "Uploading Files on Submission" for further information on the online submission process.

Categories of papers

The following types of papers will be considered:

Review Articles Review Articles are usually commissioned by the Editorial Board but suggestions are welcome and should contain a brief survey of the topic.

Original Articles are informative accounts of recent research into modern problems of Neuropediatrics. They should not exceed 8 printed pages of Neuropediatrics or 5000 words.

Short Communications contain case reports or more condensed information on clinical or experimental studies. Reports on single cases can usually not be considered unless they contain exceptional observations of general relevance. Short communications should not exceed 1500 words, two illustrations or tables, and 10 references.

Rapid Communications should be short communications of outstanding novel observations and be marked as such. Care should be taken to describe experimental procedures as concisely as possible. If accepted, publication time will be at least 3 months shorter than for mainstream papers.

Letters to the Editor will usually address articles published in Neuropediatrics or comment upon recent scientific advances of general interest. Letters will be reviewed. Letters to the Editor are submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/neuped

Manuscript Preparation

Abbreviations should be avoided in the title. If abbreviations are used in the text they should be listed on separate page along with their explanations.

The detailed abstract should state the general idea, objectives, new results and conclusions drawn from the study, and be self-explanatory.

Materials and methods should be described in detail with appropriate information about patients or experimental animals. Papers reporting experiments on patients must state that approval was obtained from the appropriate institutional review body, and that informed consent was obtained from each patient. Care must be taken to preserve the anonymity of patients, in conformity with the statement of the Vancouver Group (Br Med J 1991; 302: 1194). The source of special equipment, chemicals, antibodies or gene probes must be acknowledged including city and country.

Figures Before publication of any images in which the patient's identity may be recognized, the author of the article must provide the publisher with the patient's written consent to publication of the respective image. Standard letters for obtaining this consent are available on request from the publisher.
Reproduction in color is possible but authors are expected to bear the extra costs involved.

Figure legends should be brief, but must contain all the information to make the illustration comprehensible without taking recourse to the text. Tables should be planned to suit the page size of Neuropediatrics. All tables should have a title and be self-explanatory.
Sufficient information must be given to make the data intelligible without reference to the text.

Acknowledgments are brief but may contain grant numbers.

The references are numbered alphabetically and should be cited in the text as numbers in alphabetical (not chronological) order. If several works of one author are listed they should be arranged in chronological order. The names of all authors must be given up to a maximum of six and any more should be substituted by et al. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus, latest edition. Unlisted journals are spelled out. All titles are to be given in the original languages if they can be reproduced in the English alphabet. Translated titles may be enclosed in square brackets.

Examples:

¹ Muntoni F, Brown S, Sewry C, Patel K. Muscle development genes: their relevance in neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular Disord 2002; 12: 438-446

² Dubowitz V. Muscle Biopsy. A Practical Approach. 2nd ed. London: Bailliére Tindall, 1985

³ North K, Goebel HH. Congenital myopathies. In: Jones Jr HR, De Vivo DC, Darras BT (Eds). Neuromuscular Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence. A Clinician's Approach. Oxford: Butterworth/Heinemann, Elsevier Science, 2003: 601-633

Citation of other researchers' unpublished work must be accompanied by a letter of authorization. This also applies to manuscripts in press elsewhere which must be included as a clearly marked copy.

Uploading Files on Submission

For submission of all manuscripts, follow the instructions of the online submission system at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/neuped. Before submission, keep ready full metadata of the manuscript (title, full names referenced by Arabic superscripts with affiliation and addresses of all authors, and also the complete list of references, footnotes, figure legends, and tables). The author submitting the manuscript will be corresponding author.

Upload as many files as needed for your manuscript. If you have updated a file, please delete the original version and upload the revised file. If you are submitting a revision, please include only the latest set of files. All files will be combined into a single PDF document for the peer review process.

When uploading your manuscript, you are required to select the File designation:

Main document. The main document should be in Word format. It should not include any figures or tables.

Figures and tables. Each one should be uploaded separately. Images should be uploaded as .tif or .jpg files in a resolution of 300 dpi. Tables should be uploaded either as word or excel files. When uploading, a form appears requesting the following information:

• File tags: Please enter the figure/table number e.g. Figure 1a, Table 1
• Caption/legend: Please enter the figure/table number plus legend

Figure legends should be brief, but must contain all the information to make the illustration comprehensible without taking recourse to the text.

Please do not upload PDFs! To designate the order in which your files appear, use the dropdowns in the "order" column.

General Information

The new product liability legislation makes increased demands on the duty of care to be exercised by authors of scientific research and medical publications. This applies in particular to papers and publications containing therapeutic directions or instructions and doses or dosage schedules. Will you therefore please examine with particular care also in your own interest the factual correctness of contents of the correction and galley proofs. You may make this easier for you by arranging to have your statements counterchecked in accordance with the risks theoretically involved in the same by expert colleagues and coworkers.

During the technical production of books and journals, checks are repeatedly made for print errors, with particular reference also to doses and dosage schedules. Failing expert knowledge on the part of proofreaders, however, all that can be done is to see whether printed matter and manuscript agree. The responsibility for the correctness of data and statements made in the manuscript rests entirely with you as the author.

We should join hands in reducing the risk of right of recourse or claim to damages, and in this regard your responsible cooperation is fundamental.

The corresponding author will receive a pdf of the published article free of charge for personal, non-commercial use only.

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