How to write a basic research article to be relevant for the readers of European Urology Christian Gratzke Associate Editor European Urology How to Write a Manuscript and Get It Published in European Urology

...basic research...is carried out to increase the understanding of fundamental principles....in the long term it is the basis for...applied research. Source:

...applied research is... involving the practical application of science... deals with solving practical problems Source:

Important aspects of a basic research article Topic: The overwhelming majority of our readers are clinicians. Basic research articles are welcome, if the study is put into a clinical context.

Important aspects of a basic research article Topic: The overwhelming majority of our readers are clinicians. Basic research articles are welcome, if the study is put into a clinical context. Structure: Basic research articles need to be written in a way which allows the clinician to understand the motivation, the results and the implications for future clinical work. Importance of writing the different sections (M&M, results) Importance of figures and tables

Tissue engineering Examples for basic research manuscripts „We present the first human tissue-engineered genitourinary graft with differentiated urothelium suitable for autologous urethroplasty or ureteroplasty“. Valérie Cattan et al Eur Urol Dec;60(6):1291-8

„Cooking recipe“: accurate enough to repeat the experiments Valérie Cattan et al Eur Urol Dec;60(6):1291-8

Material and Methods: Keep it simple! Descriptions should be crisp and accurate (word count!) Statistics need to be clearly defined Ethical permission has to be given If the methods section is unclear, the ms will fail! Valérie Cattan et al Eur Urol Dec;60(6):1291-8

Results: - Short, but sufficient to answer the questions - Refer to pictures and tables - Most important data belong to the text – tables are useful to provide more abundant data - Sub-sections help to enhance readibility - Be accurate (units!) Valérie Cattan et al Eur Urol Dec;60(6):1291-8

Timely topic...

Open label study to define surgical procedure and safety profile (Tengion Inc.) – 5 patients with primary bladder cancer requiring bladder removal  Johns Hopkins (T. Bivalacqua) and U. Chicago (G. Steinberg)  Selective enrollment criteria  <75 years of age  bladder cancer surgery – Primary efficacy assessment: Safety and feasibility Conduit integrity and patency at 1 year Neo-Urinary Conduit for Bladder Replacement...with clinical relevance:

Importance of figures & tables... Define the key message of the ms: this information needs to be highlighted by figures Use different types of figures (pictures, original tracings/recordings, graphs)

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012 Schematic illustration of the female rat pelvic organs, the pelvic plexus, and adjoining nerves: (a) the point (red circle) of crush injury of the pelvic nerve; (b) the different points (red circles) of crush injury of the pelvic nerve, hypogastric nerve, and vesicogenital branches of the pelvic plexus in the “clock nerve crush” procedure.

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012 Design of study B to investigate the effect of perioperative systemic (subcutaneous) administration of betamethasone or vehicle on bladder function in rats subjected to bilateral pelvic nerve crush. Comparison with sham-operated rats was made.

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012 Rat cystometry; original tracings from study B depicting intravesical

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012

Functional investigations of isolated bladder tissue from sham-operated rats or rats subjected to pelvic nerve crush (PNC) and treated with vehicle or betamethasone

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012 Immunohistochemistry

Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012 Western blot, bladder collagen III contents

Results Sham-operated rats exhibited regular micturitions without nonvoiding contractions (NVCs). Crush of all nerve branches of the pelvic plexus or PNC resulted in overflow incontinence and/or NVCs. Betamethasone treatment improved recovery of regular micturitions, reduced lowest bladder pressure, and reduced the amplitude of NVCs but had no effect on NVC frequency in PNC rats. Compared with vehicle, betamethasone-treated PNC rats had less CD68 (a macrophage marker) in the pelvic plexus and bladder tissue. Isolated bladder from betamethasone-treated PNC rats exhibited better nerve-induced contractions, contained more cholinergic and sensory nerves, and expressed lower amounts of collagen III than bladder tissue from vehicle-treated rats. The results were transported merely by the figures and tables! Castiglione et al, Eur Urol 2012

Conclusions: basic research article for Eur Urol Study needs to be relevant for clinicians If the study is not of interest for a broad readership in Eur Urol, it may be more adequate for submission to a specialized journal (e.g. if you describe a new method or a specific technique) Importance of material & methods, figures and tables Novelty of the findings / topic Sufficient amount of data / convincing techniques to support the conclusion

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