Editor's Memo

Starting with this issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension, I am delighted to assume the editor-in-chief position. I am extremely grateful to Ron Oudiz for his productive tenure and his guidance through the process of creating and producing a quality journal. The feedback we have received during Ron's time in charge has been almost uniformly glowing, a testament to his calm leadership. I will do my best to maintain the quality of the journal and provide similar (although possibly less calm) guidance.

The mission of Advances has always been to provide, for practicing physicians, cutting edge updates on all aspects of pulmonary hypertension (PH). The journal has, we hope, been accessible and understandable to the diverse readers, including nurses, pharmacists, internists, rheumatologists, pulmonologists, and cardiologists. We have, thus, avoided including primary, original research papers or articles with too narrow a focus.

The overall tenor of Advances will continue, unchanged under my editorship. However, I am excited to introduce several new features that we believe will enhance the variety and accessibility of the journal. These 4 new sections will debut in the Summer 2009 issue:

Article Reviews (Section Editors: Drs Todd Bull and Francisco Soto): Brief summaries of recently published papers related to pulmonary vascular disease.

Pulmonary Hypertension Resource Network Corner (Section Editor: Glenna Traiger, RN, MSN): Topics of particular interest to allied health personnel involved in PH, such as nutrition, insurance issues, etc...

Ask the Expert (Section Editor: Dr Myung Park) We will solicit questions related to any aspect of pulmonary vascular disease. The questions will be addressed by an assigned expert and the answers published, as space allows. (See page 48 for details on how to be involved with this new section.)

Clinical Trials Update (Section Editors: Drs Fernando Torres and Deborah Levine): A rundown of ongoing clinical trials, top line results, and planned trials.

In this current issue of Advances, Drs Jim White and Bob Schilz have tackled the area of new therapeutics. Although we already have several effective pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapies, the field of PAH treatment continues to move forward rapidly. New therapeutic targets and new ways to give existing therapies are being studied. With more therapies on the market, however, the feasibility and ethics of randomized controlled trials has changed. These important issues have been addressed in a Roundtable discussion that I hope you will find as lively as I did!