Editors’ note This issue of The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine features articles from an international group of authors that explore some of the medical and psychological consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI). These cover several broad themes, including, approaches to mitigating the metabolic effects of SCI (Astorino et al. and Sabout et al.), and indications for surgical interventions (Nishida et al. and Marreiros et al.). Astorino et al. explore the effects of chronic activity-based therapy (ABT) following SCI on muscle atrophy, body fat, body mass, fat-free mass, as well as adiponectin, IGF-I or myostatin, while Sabour et al. used a randomized double-blinded clinical trial approach to study Omega-3 fatty acids’ effect on leptin and adiponectin concentrations. In a study that illustrates the complex relation between the objective vs subjective effects of illness and the resulting physical limitations, Wang et al. investigated the effects of shoulder pain on functional limitation, perceived health and mood. And Nishida et al. explore the complicated and interdependent relation between static vs dynamic factors relevant to cervical stenosis resulting from ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Using retrospective observational approaches, Liebscher et al. describe risk factors for pulmonary complications following traumatic, complete lower cervical SCI, while Marreiros et al. describe the nature and frequency of surgical interventions in children with myelomeningocele. This issue contains the poster and platform presentation abstracts of the annual conference of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals (ASCIP) which will be held in New Orleans. These abstracts are also available to all online at http://www.maneyonline.com/jscm. On the administrative side, the journal’s publisher, Maney Publishing, has been acquired by Taylor & Francis. Taylor & Francis are a large publisher who have many medical and healthcare titles, and while no immediate changes are in store for our authors and reviewers, we look forward to an improved experience for our readers and contributors as Maney is integrated into the Taylor & Francis family. We encourage our readers to visit the Journal’s online platform. There, subscribers and members of ASCIP have access to all of our editorial content, past and present, including Advance Articles, which have not yet appeared in print. Have a comment on an article? Email the editors at [email protected] Florian P. Thomas, MD, MA, PhD Editor-in-Chief Carolann Murphy, PA Assistant Editor Stephen Cavanaugh Managing Editor

© The Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, Inc. 2015 DOI 10.1179/1079026815Z.000000000432

The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine

2015

VOL.

38

NO.

5

569