JCSM Rapid Communications: from basic science to clinical research

The Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle - Rapid Communications (JCSM Rapid Commun) has already been launched more than one year ago and has started to publish several papers from across the spectrum of cachexia, sarcopenia, and other wasting disorders, from muscle disease like neuromuscular illness to clinical syndromes like frailty. As can be seen from the table below, the articles published so far cover a broad spectrum of topics from clinical to basic research.

Even though the table suggests that most manuscripts stem from the basic research arena, it is our aim to cover the entire spectrum of research in wasting and muscle diseases and to provide a platform for researchers from around the globe for this area that still remains a niche of research. Indeed, topics include randomized trials such as the Auckland's Cancer Cachexia evaluating Resistance Training (ACCeRT) trial that evaluated the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and celecoxib vs. eicosapentaenoic acid and celecoxib plus progressive resistance training followed by ingestion of essential amino acids high in leucine in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.¹³ Other studies also cover aspects of nutritional intake like omega-3 and omega-3/curcumin-enriched fruit juices¹ and their effects on muscle wasting or the effects of a leucine-rich diet in tumour-bearing animals.⁴ Klose et al. studied stem cell activation,² whereas Alves et al. and Bekki et al. studied different aspects of exercise training in animal models.^{7, 8} Apart from publishing original research, one of our ideas is to cover different pharmacological approaches to muscle wasting in a series of dedicated review articles, one of which is presented in the current issue covering growth hormone secretagogues like anamorelin,¹² a substance that has received much attention recently for its ability to improve muscle mass in the ROMANA trial.^{15, 16} Unfortunately, anamorelin failed to improve muscle strength. Nevertheless, anamorelin follows a pharmacological concept that is used in fields as diverse as growth retardation, improvement of body composition, and gastrointestinal function, all of which are covered in the review article by Ishida et al.¹²

JCSM Rapid Commun started out of dedication to the field of wasting disorders, but also out of necessity. When we launched the mother journal, the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle in 2010, we did not expect such an avalanche of papers that it is currently receiving. Many very good papers still have to be rejected, simply for lack of space. However, we decided that these papers should not leave the realm of cachexia and wasting research, which gave birth to the idea of a daughter journal, JCSM Clinical Reports (JCSM Clin Rep), that was launched already in 2016 and published the first article of the pharmacotherapy in muscle wasting series entitled Myostatin inhibitors as pharmacological treatment for muscle wasting and muscular dystrophy.¹⁷ Since the main journal has a respectable impact factor of currently over 10, the number of submissions has further increased, which buttressed the need for a second daughter journal, JCSM Rapid Commun, started in January 2018. Whilst JCSM Clin Rep is dedicated to clinical research, JCSM Rapid Commun aims to cover the entire spectrum of research, as discussed already above.

The family is growing, or as Jeremy Sisto once said: ‘I knew I was going to love my daughter, but I had no idea how much I would love her.’¹⁸ With Wiley now on board as a publishing house for all three journals, our aims are now full indexing in Medline and—of course—indexing in the Web of Knowledge. With this background knowledge, we would like to request your submissions and again would like to wish a warm welcome to JCSM Rapid Communications!

None declared.