How to write a basic research article to be relevant for the readers of European Urology

1. HowtoWrite a Manuscript and GetItPublished in EuropeanUrology How to write a basic research article to be relevantfor the readers of European Urology Christian Gratzke Associate Editor European Urology

2. ...basic research...is carried out to increase the understanding of fundamental principles. ...in the long term it is the basis for...applied research. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_research

3. ...applied research is ... involving the practical application of science... deals with solving practical problems Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_research

4. Importantaspects of a basicresearcharticle • Topic: • The overwhelming majority of our readers are clinicians. Basic research • articles are welcome, if the study is put into a clinical context.

5. Importantaspects of a basicresearcharticle • 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

6. Examples for basic research manuscripts Tissue engineering „We present the first human tissue-engineered genitourinary graft with differentiated urothelium suitable for autologous urethroplasty or ureteroplasty“. Valérie Cattan et al EurUrol. 2011 Dec;60(6):1291-8

7. „Cooking recipe“: accurate enough to repeat the experiments Valérie Cattan et al EurUrol. 2011 Dec;60(6):1291-8

8. Valérie Cattan et al EurUrol. 2011 Dec;60(6):1291-8

9. 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 EurUrol. 2011 Dec;60(6):1291-8

10. 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 EurUrol. 2011 Dec;60(6):1291-8

11. Timely topic...

12. 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:

13. 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) Importance of figures & tables...

14. 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, EurUrol 2012

15. 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, EurUrol 2012

16. Rat cystometry; original tracings from study B depicting intravesical Castiglione et al, EurUrol 2012

17. Castiglione et al, EurUrol 2012

18. 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, EurUrol 2012

19. Immunohistochemistry Castiglione et al, EurUrol 2012

20. Western blot, bladder collagen III contents Castiglione et al, EurUrol 2012

21. The results were transported merely by the figures and tables! • Results • • Sham-operatedratsexhibitedregularmicturitionswithoutnonvoidingcontractions (NVCs). • Crush of all nerve branches of thepelvicplexusor PNC resulted in overflowincontinenceand/orNVCs. • Betamethasonetreatmentimprovedrecovery of regularmicturitions, reducedlowestbladderpressure, and reducedtheamplitude of NVCsbuthad no effect on NVC frequency in PNC rats. • Comparedwithvehicle, betamethasone-treated PNC ratshadless CD68 (a macrophagemarker) in thepelvicplexus and bladdertissue. • Isolatedbladderfrombetamethasone-treated PNC ratsexhibitedbetternerve-inducedcontractions, containedmorecholinergic and sensorynerves, and expressedloweramounts of collagen III thanbladdertissuefromvehicle-treatedrats. Castiglione et al, EurUrol 2012

22. Conclusions: basic research article for EurUrol • 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

23. Thankyou!