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Methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements; References; Legends; Tables. Each section should start on
a new page, except for the body of the paper (Introduction to Acknowledgements), which should be continuous.
Title page: The first page of each manuscript should show, in order:
the title, which should be informative but concise;
the authors' names and initials, without degrees or professional status, followed by their institutes;
a short title, maximum length 60 characters and spaces, for use as a running head;
a list of 3-10 key words, for indexing purposes;
the name of the corresponding author and full contact details (postal address, telephone and fax
numbers, and e-mail address).
Declaration of Interests: Potential conflicts of interest should be identified for each author or, if there are no
such conflicts, this should be stated explicitly. Conflict of interest exists where an author has a personal or
financial relationship that might introduce bias or affect their judgement. Examples of situations where conflicts
of interest might arise are restrictive conditions in the funding of the research, or payment to an investigator from
organisations with an interest in the study (including employment, consultancies, honoraria, ownership of
shares). The fact that a study is conducted on behalf of a commercial body using funds supplied to the
investigators' institution by the sponsor does not in itself involve a conflict of interest. Investigators should
disclose potential conflicts to study participants and should state whether they have done so.
The possible existence of a conflict of interest does not preclude consideration of a manuscript for publication,
but the Editor might consider it appropriate to publish the disclosed information along with the paper.
Abstract: The abstract should summarise the contents of the paper in a single paragraph of no more than 250
words (to ensure that the abstract is published in full by on-line services such as PubMed). No attempt should
be made to give numerical results in detail. References are not allowed in the abstract.
Introduction: This section should provide a concise summary of the background to the relevant field of
research, introduce the specific problem addressed by the study and state the hypotheses to be tested.
Materials and Methods (or Subjects and Methods): All relevant attributes of the material (e.g. tissue, patients
or population sample) forming the subject of the research should be provided. Experimental, analytical and
statistical methods should be described concisely but in enough detail that others can repeat the work. The
name and brief address of the manufacturer or supplier of major equipment should be given.
Statistical methods should be described with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the
original data to verify the reported results. When possible, findings should be quantified and appropriate
measures of error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals) given. Sole reliance on statistical hypothesis
testing, such as the use of P values, should be avoided. Details about eligibility criteria for subjects,
randomization and the number of observations should be included. The computer software and the statistical
methods used should be specified. See Altman et al.: Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals
[Br Med J 1983;286:1489-93] for further information.
Manuscripts reporting studies on human subjects should include evidence that the research was ethically
conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association). In particular, there must
be a statement in Materials and Methods that the consent of an appropriate ethical committee was obtained
prior to the start of the study, and that subjects were volunteers who had given informed, written consent.
Clinical trials should be reported according to the standardised protocol of the CONSORT Statement. The
CONSORT checklist must be submitted together with papers reporting clinical trials.
In studies on laboratory animals, the experimental procedures should conform to the principles laid down in the
European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific
Purposes and/or the National Research Council Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Unless the purpose of a paper is to compare specific systems or products, commercial names of clinical and
scientific equipment or techniques should only be cited, as appropriate, in the 'Materials and Methods' or
'Acknowledgements' sections. Elsewhere in the manuscript generic terms should be used.
Results: Results should be presented without interpretation. The same data should not be presented in both
tables and figures. The text should not repeat numerical data provided in tables or figures but should indicate
the most important results and describe relevant trends and patterns.
Discussion: This section has the functions of describing any limitations of material or methods, of interpreting
the data and of drawing inferences about the contribution of the study to the wider field of research. There
should be no repetition of preceding sections, e.g. reiteration of results or the aim of the research. The