Editorial

Journal of Experimental and Integrative Medicine 2011; 1(1):1-2

From cell to system, from mechanism to disease

Sukru Oter1, Recai Ogur2
Departments of 1Physiology, and 2Public Health, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.

In collaboration with a qualified international

editorial team, we are pleased to launch the
publication of a new scientific medical journal. The
Journal of Experimental and Integrative Medicine
(JEIM) will publish articles from all fields of
medical and biological sciences, particularly
dealing with possible mechanisms or pathways of
common as well as uncommon health disorders.
Solicited or self-submitted reviews, clinical or
experimental research articles and short reports
will be the main types of papers published in the
Journal. This journal will also be a scientific arena
for researchers to release and discuss their findings
in the form of correspondence letters. Finally, in
order to give academicians the chance to discuss
their ideas on a scientific basis, well-documented
hypotheses will also be published.
Although the term integrative medicine has
commonly been used as a synonym for
complementary medicine and/or alternative
medicine, the emphasis in JEIM will be on uniting
to form a whole. Of course, complementary
medicine will also be welcomed by the journal, but
the main stream of JEIM is to integrate
experimental data with clinical applications and to
build the big picture by gathering the puzzle parts
from cellular and molecular research.
The descriptions above bring us to another
newsworthy term, i.e. translational medicine,
which in fact, seems to be the best match for the
definition of JEIMs scope. Indeed, communication
between basic sciences and clinical experiences, in
other words, transferring knowledge from benchto-bedside, may be acknowledged as the most
significant issue of 21st century medical research.
There is no doubt that experimental findings
obtained from animal research or cell culture
studies are fundamental for the development of the
biomedical sciences. Nevertheless, without clinical
approval and usage, experimental results will
always remain shortfall or will be left far from their
main purpose. Therefore, in order to reach the
highest communal benefit, it is necessary to
integrate basic biological sciences with possible
application areas.

January 2011 will be registered as the official

start date of the Journal of Experimental and
Integrative Medicine, fully expecting to contribute
to biomedical research with explanations from cell
to system and from mechanism to disease. The
first issue of the Journal is a product of intense
work conducted by the founding editors. Apart
from the present editorial, a total of 8 articles are
offered to the reader in this issue: 3 invited reviews
written by senior scientists in their fields, 3 original
research articles, 1 short report, and 1 additional
editorial.
Prof. Bocci from Italy, a renowned physician who
has focused on the medical applications of ozone
for decades, discusses the future of this interesting
therapeutic approach and gives directions to young
scientists [1]. An accompanying editorial mentions
the importance of bio-oxidative treatment
modalities for 21st century medical sciences [2]. A
research team of the Gulhane Military Medical
Academy reports another bio-oxidative therapeutic
application, i.e. hyperbaric oxygen treatment; an
interesting experimental report about pressurerelated oxidative effects of that treatment [3], which
is a complementary work to several previously
published studies by the same team [4-6].
In his exciting review, Prof. Reiter, leader in
research on the pineal gland, melatonin, and related
issues, summarizes the circadian mechanisms in the
regulation of melatonin synthesis, a major product
of the pineal gland, and emphasizes the
pathophysiological
consequences
of
light
pollution [7]. Another invited contribution for this
first issue of JEIM was provided by Prof. Levin,
senior scientist in the field of animal models in
urological disorders. In his review he provides a
fantastic view on benign prostate hyperplasia
(BPH) modeling and the efficacy of treatment with
antioxidants against this common problem [8]. We
warmly thank all of the authors who have
contributed to our journal with their valuable
review articles.
A study conducted in prostate cancer cell lines
attracts attention on some molecular details with
regard to getting closer to better therapeutic

www.jeim.org

Oter & Ogur: Cell to system, mechanism to disease

approaches against this type of cancer [9]. Finally,

two fieldwork reports, one on the microbiological
air quality of childrens rooms in Turkey [10] and
the other on a viral infection outbreak in India [11],
round out the first issue of JEIM.

References
Bocci V, Zanardi I, Travagli V. Has oxygen-ozonetherapy
a future in medicine? J Exp Integr Med 2011; 1:5-11.
2. Korkmaz A, Akay C. Toward to understanding the role of
reactive molecules in bio-oxidative treatment modalities. J
Exp Integr Med 2011; 1:3-4.
3. Simsek K, Ozler M, Ucar E, Sadir S, Demirbas S, Uysal B,
Ay H. Pressure-related effects of hyperbaric oxygen
exposure on oxidation products and antioxidant enzymes in
the rat lung. J Exp Integr Med 2011; 1:37-42.
4. Oter S, Topal T, Sadir S, Ozler M, Uysal B, Ay H, Yaren
H, Korkmaz A, Akin A. Oxidative stress levels in rats
following exposure to oxygen at 3 atm for 0-120 min. Aviat
Space Environ Med 2007; 78:1108-13.
5. Ay H, Topal T, Uysal B, Ozler M, Oter S, Korkmaz A,
Dndar K. Time-dependent course of hyperbaric oxygeninduced oxidative effects in rat lung and erythrocytes. Clin
Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2007; 34:787-91.
6. Oter S, Korkmaz A, Topal T, Ozcan O, Sadir S, Ozler M,
Ogur R, Bilgic H. Correlation between hyperbaric oxygen
exposure pressures and oxidative parameters in rat lung,
brain, and erythrocytes. Clin Biochem 2005; 38:706-11.
7. Reiter RJ, Tan DX, Sanchez-Barcelo E, Mediavilla MD,
Gitto E, Korkmaz A. Circadian mechanisms in the
regulation of melatonin synthesis: disruption with light at
night and the pathophysiological consequences. J Exp
Integr Med 2011; 1:13-22.
8. Levin RM, Radu F, Topal T, Schuler C, Hydery T, Leggett
RE. Role of antioxidants in the treatment of obstructionmediated rabbit urinary bladder dysfunction. J Exp Integr
Med 2011; 1:23-35.
9. Farooqi AA, Mansoor Q, Rana A, Mashhadi TM, Imran M,
Naqi SA, , Bhatti S. SMURF and NEDD4 interference
offers therapeutic potential in chaperoning genome
integrity. J Exp Integr Med 2011; 1:43-50.
10. Gocgeldi E, Berdan ME, Ucar M, Turker T, Istanbulluog lu
H, Gle M, Hasde M. Analysis of childrens rooms in
terms of microbiological air quality. J Exp Integr Med
2011; 1:51-58.
11. Karthikeyan M, Deepa MK. A study on Chikungunya
outbreak of 2009 in Balussery, Kozhikode, India. J Exp
Integr Med 2011; 1:59-62.

We warrant that, from issue to issue, an

incremental scientific quality will be recognized by
the reader. Our goal is to take our place among
highly qualified scientific journals in the near
future. We hope that, beginning with the first issue,
our readers will fully enjoy JEIM.

1.

Key words:
Basic sciences;
Bench-to-bedside;
Complementary medicine;
Experimental research;
Integrative medicine;
Translational medicine

Correspondence:
S. Oter
Gulhane Askeri Tip Akademisi,
Fizyoloji Anabilim Dali,
06010 Etlik, Ankara, Turkey.
oters@gata.edu.tr; fizyoter@gmail.com

Received: January 18, 2011

Accepted: January 19, 2011
Published online: January 21, 2011

J Exp Integr Med 2011; 1:1-2

DOI:10.5455/jeim.210111.ed.002

DOI:10.5455/jeim.210111.ed.002