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European Stroke Journal

European Stroke Journal

Published in Association with European Stroke Organisation
Other Titles in:
Cardiology | Neurology | Stroke

eISSN: 23969881 | ISSN: 23969873 | Current volume: 9 | Current issue: 2 Frequency: Quarterly

European Stroke Journal (ESJ) is the official publication of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO). ESJ is a fully peer-reviewed journal covering clinical stroke research from all fields. Published research includes, but is not limited to: clinical trials, epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention, diagnosis, acute and post-acute management, guidelines, translation of experimental findings into clinical practice, rehabilitation, organisation of stroke care, and societal impact.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Launched in 2016 the European Stroke Journal (ESJ) is the official journal of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO), a professional non-profit organization with over 1,400 individual members, and affiliations to numerous related national and international societies.

ESJ covers clinical stroke research from all fields, including clinical trials, epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention, diagnosis, acute and post-acute management, guidelines, translation of experimental findings into clinical practice, rehabilitation, organisation of stroke care, and societal impact. It is open to authors from all relevant medical and health professions. Article types include review articles, original research, protocols, guidelines, editorials and letters to the Editor.

Through ESJ, authors and researchers have gained a new platform for the rapid and professional publication of peer reviewed scientific material of the highest standards; publication in ESJ is highly competitive. The journal and its editorial team has developed excellent cooperation with sister organisations such as the World Stroke Organisation and the International Journal of Stroke, and the American Heart Organization/American Stroke Association and the journal Stroke.

ESJ is fully peer-reviewed and is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Issues are published 4 times a year (March, June, September and December) and articles are published OnlineFirst prior to issue publication.

Editor-in-Chief
Vice Editor
Dr Else Sandset PhD Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
Editorial Board Member
Dr. Anne Hege Aamodt Oslo University Hospital and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian
Professor Foad Abd-Allah MD University of Cairo, Egypt
Dr. Azmil H. Abdul-Rahim University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Dr Rufus Akinyemi MBBS, MSc, PhD, MWACP, FMCP University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Professor Grethe Andersen MD, DMSc Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
Dr. Francesco Arba Careggi University Hospital, Italy
Prof. Daniel Bereczki Semmelweis University Department of Neurology, Hungary
Professor Anna Bersano Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Italy
Associate Professor, Daniel Bos, MD, PhD Erasmus MC – University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Professor Michael Brainin MD, PhD, Dr (hons), FESO FAHA Danube-University Krems, Austria
Dr Israel Fernandez Cadenas , PhD Sant Pau Institute of Research, Spain
Professor Bruce Campbell Royal Melbourne Hospital/University of Melbourne, Australia
Professor Valeria Caso, MD, PhD, FESO University of Perugia, Italy
Dr Barbara Casolla, MD, PhD Unité de Recherche Clinique Cote d'Azur-UR2CA, France
Professor Ángel Chamorro MD PhD University of Barcelona, Spain
Professor Christopher Chen BMBCh (Oxon), MRCP (UK), FRCP (Edin) National University of Singapore, Singapore
Assistant Professor, Bastian Cheng, MD University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
Professor Hanne Krarup Christensen MD, PhD, DMSci, FESO University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Denmark
Professor Charlotte Cordonnier MD, PhD University of Lille, France
Professor László Csiba PhD, D.Sci.HAS Debrecen University, Hungary
Professor Stephen Davis AM MD FRCP Edin FRACP FAHMS The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
Professor Jacques De Keyser MD,PhD Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Belgium
Professor Gian Marco De Marchis, MD MSc Department of Neurology & Stroke Center, University Hospital, Switzerland
Assistant Professor Diana Aguiar de Sousa MD, PhD Hospital Santa Maria/CHULN, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Associate Professor Candice Delcourt The George Institute for Global Health/University of New South Wales/Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Professor Vida Demarin MD, PhD International Institute for Brain Health, Croatia
Associate Professor, Nele Demeyere, PhD University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Professor Martin Dichgans MD University of Munich, Germany
Professor Exuperio Díez Tejedor MD, PhD Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain
Professor Matthias Endres MD Charite – Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Professor José M. Ferro MD, PhD University of Lisbon, Portugal
Professor Urs Fischer MD MSc University of Bern, Switzerland
Professor Ana Catarina Fonseca University of Lisbon, Portugal
Associate Professor Blanca Fuentes MD, PhD Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Professor Zuzana Gdovinová PhD PP.J. Šafárik University Košice, Slovakia
Dr Jacoba P Greving University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands
Professor Alla Guekht MD PhD Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neuropsychiatry & Russian National Research Medical University, Russia
Professor Peter Heuschmann MD, MPH Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Germany
Dr Petra Ijäs, MD, PhD, MSc, FESO Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Finland
Professor Dalius Jatuzis MD, PhD Vilnius University, Lithuania
Associate Professor Elias Johansson, MD, PhD Umeå University, Sweden
Associate Professor Katarina Jood Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
Dr Mira Katan, MSc, PD University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
Dr Aristeidis Katsanos, MD, PhD McMaster University & Population Health Research Institute, Canada
Dr Dearbhla Kelly MB BCh BAO MSc DPhil MRCPI MRCP(UK) J. Philip Kistler Stroke Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Professor Peter Kelly MD MS FRCPI FESO Mater University Hospital & University College Dublin, Ireland
Professor Dheeraj Khurana MD, DM Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
Professor Jong S. kim MD, PhD Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
Professor C.J.M. Klijn MD, PhD Radboudumc, Netherlands
Professor Yoshihiro Kokubo MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FESC, FESO, FJSH National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Japan
Dr Janika Kõrv MD, PhD, FESO University of Tartu, Estonia
Associate Professor Zhe Kang Law MD, MRCP(UK), PhD, FRCP(Edin) National University of Malaysia, Malaysia
Prof Robin Lemmens KU Leuven, (Belgium)
Dr Xinyi Leng, PhD The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), China
Dr Linxin Li, DPhil Oxford University, United Kingdom
Professor Arne Lindgren MD, PhD Lunds Universitet, Sweden
Professor Perttu J. Lindsberg MD PhD Helsinki University Hospital, Finland
Professor Liping Liu MD PhD Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, China
Professor Ming Liu MD, PhD Sichuan University, China
Associate Professor Nicolas Martinez-Majander Helsinki University Hospital, Finland
Professor Sheila Martins MD PhD Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Professor Jean-Louis Mas MD, PhD Paris Descartes University, France
Professor Heinrich Mattle MD University of Bern, Switzerland
Professor Dominick J. H. McCabe PhD, FRCPI, FESO The Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Ireland
Dr Thomas Meinel Stroke Center Bern, Switzerland
Professor Andreas Meisel, MD Center for Stroke Research Berlin, Germany
Professor Atte Meretoja MD, PhD, MSc, FRACP Helsinki University Hospital, Finland
Dr Patrik Michel MD, FESO, FAHA Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland
Professor Robert Mikulik MD, PhD St. Anne's University Hospital, Czech Republic
Professor Carlos Molina MD, PhD Hospital Universitari Vall d´Hebron, Spain
Dr Joan Montaner MD PhD Virgen del Rocio Hospital, Spain
Professor Thierry Moulin, MD, PhD, MSC University of Franche-Comte, France
Professor Maciej Niewada MD PhD Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Assistant Professor George Ntaios MD, MSc, PhD University of Thessaly Larissa, Greece
Dr Yasushi Okada MD, PhD National Hospital Organization Kyushu Medical Center, Japan
Dr. Lina Palaiodim Second Department of Neurology National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Professor Jeyaraj Pandian MD DM FRACP FRCP FESO Florey Neurosceince Institutes, India
Professor Leonardo Pantoni MD PhD University of Milan, Italy
Dr Marco Pasi, PhD CHU de Tours, Hôpital Bretonneau, France
Professor Jesper Petersson Institute for Clinical Sciences Lund Department of Neurology Lund University, Sweden
Professor Alessandro Pezzini MD Università degli Studi di Brescia, Italy
Prof. Dr. med. Marios Psychogios University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
Professor Jukka Putaala MD, PhD, MSc(Stroke) Helsinki University Hospital, Finland
Dr Terry Quinn, FWSO, FESO, FRCP, MD, MBChB, BSc Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
Dr Peter Ringleb MD PhD University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany
Dr. Leon Rinkel Amsterdam University Medical Centers location AMC, Netherlands & University of Calgary, Canada
Professor Jonathan Rosand MD, MSc Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Professor Peter Rothwell FMedSci University of Oxford, UK
Professor Simona Sacco MD University of L’Aquila, Italy
Professor Dr. Jan Scheitz Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
Professor Christian Stapf MD Université de Montréal, Canada
Professor Thorsten Steiner MME Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany
Professor Daniel Strbian MD, PhD, MSc (Stroke Med),FESO Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland
Professor Katharina Sunnerhagen MD, PhD University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dr. Rossana Tassi Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Italy
Professor Turgut Tatlisumak MD, PhD Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg & Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden
Professor Vincent Thijs MD PhD Austin Health & University of Melbourne, Australia
Professor Danilo Toni MD, PhD, FESO University of Rome, Italy
Dr Kazunori Toyoda National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Japan
Professor Alexander Tsiskaridze MD PhD DSc Tbilisi State University, Georgia
Professor Georgios Tsivgoulis MD, PhD, MSc, FESO National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Dr H. Bart van der Worp MD, PhD University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands
Dr Mervyn Vergouwen MD PhD University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands
Dr. Jamie Verhoeve Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
Professor Joanna Wardlaw MB ChB, MD, FRCR, FRCP, FMedSci, FRSE University of Edinburgh, UK
Professor Marieke J. H. Wermer, MD, PhD Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
Professor David Werring FRCP PhD FESO University College London, UK
Dr Teddy Wu Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
  • Clarivate Analytics: Current Contents - Clinical Medicine
  • Clarivate Analytics: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
  • ProQuest
  • PubMed Central (PMC)
  • Scopus
  • European Stroke Journal is the fully peer-reviewed official journal of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO), a professional non-profit organization with individual members, and affiliations to numerous related national and international societies.

    European Stroke Journal covers clinical stroke research from all fields, including clinical trials, epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention, diagnosis, acute and post-acute management, guidelines, translation of experimental findings into clinical practice, rehabilitation, organisation of stroke care, and societal impact. It is open to authors from all relevant medical and health professions. Article types include review articles, original research, protocols, guidelines, editorials and letters to the Editor.

    European Stroke Journal has full editorial independence from the European Stroke Organisation.

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

    This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esj to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of European Stroke Journal will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication inthe Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that European Stroke Journal may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Declaration Guidelines for Authors
      2.3 Authorship
      2.4 Acknowledgements
      2.5 Funding
      2.6 Declaration of conflicting interests
      2.7 Research ethics and patient consent
      2.8 Clinical trials
      2.9 Reporting guidelines
      2.10 Guarantor
      2.11 Contributorship
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. Preparing your manuscript
      4.1 Formatting
      4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
      4.3 Supplementary material
      4.4 Visual Abstract
      4.5 Reference style
      4.5 English language editing services
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. On acceptance and publication
      6.1 Sage Production
      6.2 Online First publication
      6.3 Access to your published article
      6.4 Promoting your article
    7. Further information

     

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to European Stroke Journal, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article Types

    Content Type

    Article Types

    Abstract

    Word Limit*

    Tables/Figures

    References

    Editorial

    -

    N/A

    1,000

    N/A

    Maximum 5

    Guideline

    -

    250

    N/A

    No Maximum

    No Maximum

    Letter to the Editor

    -

    N/A

    750

    0

    Maximum 5

    Original Research

    Original research articles, including: randomised controlled trials, other clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses

    250

    4,500

    Maximum 6

    No maximum

    Protocol

    Protocols of randomised controlled trials and other clinical trials

    250

    4,500

    Maximum 6

    No maximum

    Review Article

    Overviews of a major topics

    250

    4,500

    Maximum 6

    No maximum

    *Includes title, abstract, authors, references, disclosures, tables and legends

    Letters to the Editor Comments arising from recent articles published in the journal are welcomed. Letters are not divided into sections. Letters to the Editor should not include tables, figures or data supplements.  

    Original Research Articles should include title page, keywords, structured abstract*, introduction, patients and methods, results, discussion (including limitations as appropriate), conclusion, acknowledgements, declarations, references, and up to 6 tables or figures.

    *Structured abstracts should include the following headings: Introduction, Patients and methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion.

    Protocols: Protocols should describe scheduled or ongoing studies, and up to 6 tables or figures.

    Review Articles should include title page, keywords, structured abstract*, introduction, method, findings, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements, disclosures, references, and up to 6 tables or figures.

    *Structured abstracts should include the following headings:
    Purpose, method, findings, discussion and conclusion.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    After initial review by the Editor, a decision is made whether to send the manuscript for external peer review. The Editor will select at least two referees and make a recommendation regarding publication based on their feedback. European Stroke Journal adheres to a single-anonymize peer review process in which the reviewer’s name is routinely withheld from the author unless the reviewer requests a preference for his/her identity to be revealed. The journal aims to have all manuscripts reviewed as rapidly as possible.

    The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on all manuscripts. The Vice Editor or a Guest Editor may serve as handling editor for manuscripts for which the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interests.

    The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board or a Guest Editor and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in selection of reviewers or the decision-making process. Likewise, where a manuscript is submitted by an author who has a close association with an editor (recent collaborator, same institution or personal relationship), an alternate or guest editor will be assigned to manage the process.

    As part of the submission process you will be asked to provide the names of peers who should not be called upon to review your manuscript.

    European Stroke Journal is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Publons. Publons is a third party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for European Stroke Journal can opt in to Publons in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Publons website.

    2.2 Declaration Guidelines for Authors

    Please see: ESJ Declaration Policy Document

    The following statements should either be included in your main document file or be uploaded under the file type ‘Declarations’ for every manuscript submitted. These will be published at the end of every paper accepted for publication. 

    Please read the Declaration guidelines for authors (available here carefully before submitting your Declarations document.

    DECLARATIONS
    1. Conflicting interests (section 2.6)
    2. Funding (section 2.5)
    3. Informed consent (section 2.7)
    4. Ethical approval (section 2.7)
    5. Guarantor (section 2.10)
    6. Contributorship (section 2.11)
    7. Acknowledgements (section 2.4)
    Please see the below example of a completed declarations section:

    DECLARATIONS
    Conflicting interests: MS is an employee of XXX. BF has received grants from XXX. 
    Funding: This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number XXX]
    Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient(s) for their anonymized information to be published in this article.
    Ethical approval: The ethics committee of  XXXX approved this study (REC number: XXXX)
    Guarantor: BF
    Contributorship: BF and NP researched literature and conceived the study. MS was involved in protocol development, gaining ethical approval, patient recruitment and data analysis. BF wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript
    Acknowledgements: We would like to thank XXX XXXX for his assistance and guidance in this research.

    2.3 Authorship

    Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

    The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

      1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
      2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
      3. Approved the version to be published,
      4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

    Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

    Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

    2.4 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section within your declarations document (see section 2.2). Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    2.4.1 Third party submissions
    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
    • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
    • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.4.2 Writing assistance

    Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

    2.5 Funding

    European Stroke Journal requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading within their declarations document (see section 2.2).  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

    2.6 Declaration of conflicting interests

    It is the policy of European Stroke Journal to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

    Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included within your declarations document (see section 2.2). If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

    2.7 Research ethics and patient consent

    Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

    Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

    For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section and within your declarations document whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

    Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative.

    Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

    All research involving animals submitted for publication must be approved by an ethics committee with oversight of the facility in which the studies were conducted. The Journal has adopted the ARRIVE guidelines.

    2.8 Clinical trials

    European Stroke Journal conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

    2.9 Reporting guidelines

    The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.

    Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.

    2.10 Guarantor

     The Guarantor is the person willing to take full responsibility for the article, including for the accuracy and appropriateness of the reference list. This will often be the most senior member of the research group and is commonly also the author for correspondence. Please state this person’s name as initials within your declarations document (see section 2.2).

    2.11 Contributorship

    For multi-authored papers this statement should outline what each party contributed to the authorship of the paper. Authors should be identified by their initials. An example is shown below.

    BF and NP researched literature and conceived the study. MS was involved in protocol development, gaining ethical approval, patient recruitment and data analysis. BF wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    European Stroke Journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

    Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    European Stroke Journal offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines. Please note, figure files should not be submitted in PDF format.

    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online and in the print issue. There is no charge for reproducing figures in colour in the printed version.

    4.3 Supplementary material

    This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.

    4.4 Visual Abstract

    A visual abstract is included with the HTML version of all Original Articles, Reviews and Protocols published by ESJ. However, due to the work involved in preparing visual abstracts according to journal style, it is advisable to defer this until manuscripts have successfully passed both triage and review stages and have been invited for revision. At that stage, authors will be notified and invited to send their draft visual abstract directly to the editor at least a week before submission of their revision. Invitation to provide a visual abstract does not imply eventual acceptance of the manuscript for publication.

    Visual abstract drafts should be prepared using the ESJ PowerPoint template, low resolution proprietary symbols and guidance provided on the website (links, symbols), restricting the message to one principal finding and minimising text.

    Visual abstract drafts are reviewed by a graphics abstracts editor and after their approval are professionally redrawn in high resolution by a graphics artist before being uploaded to the ESJ submission website in encapsulated postscript format. A pdf copy is provided to the authors before manuscript acceptance. This may be used freely. However, use of ESJ’s proprietary fonts and template in other settings is restricted.

    4.5 Reference style

    European Stroke Journal adheres to the Sage Vancouver reference style. View the Sage Vancouver guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Vancouver EndNote output file.

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    European Stroke Journal is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/esj to login and submit your article online.

    IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

    5.1 ORCID

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

    The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

    If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.2.1 Title Page

    The first page of your manuscript should be the Title Page and should include the following information:

    • Title
    • All author names and affiliations
    • Corresponding author contact details
    • Structured abstract
    • Keywords

    5.3 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that all declarations are accurate.

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the European Stroke Journal editorial office as follows:

    eso.pra@sagepub.com

    Individual Subscription, E-access


    Institutional Subscription, E-access