AIDS Therapy and Prevention

Open Access online publishing is the trend of the future for unrestricted rapid and international dissemination of knowledge. Several journals are published on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) research, but none of them appear to be Open Access. To eliminate or to abate the scourge of AIDS, it is important that the knowledge acquired through research be disseminated as soon as possible. The Open Access journal, AIDS Research and Therapy, is intended to fill this knowledge gap by online publication of basic, preclinical, and clinical research articles.

AIDS is one of the biggest threats to humankind. At the end of 2003 there were 40 million HIV-infected patients worldwide, of which 3 million were estimated to have died in 2003 [1,2]. The number of deaths is expected to rise year after year if the spread of disease is unchecked, with an estimated 5 million new cases being added every year. In countries where the HIV infection rates are as high as 30%, it is not a matter of mere human survival, but the survival of the countries. Humankind needs to make every possible effort to rid of this scourge. It is being approached from two traditional means: prevention and treatment. We need to greatly enhance our efforts in both these approaches. It has been predicted by several mathematical models that even modest prevention efforts in the spread of HIV-1 can tame the scourge considerably.

Dissemination of the latest knowledge in basic science and its application to AIDS therapy and prevention is of paramount importance. To date, this has been accomplished with several excellent print journals dedicated to HIV-1 and the disease caused by it, AIDS. Many of them are now accessible online. However, we are launching the first Open Access journal in the AIDS arena. The purpose of this journal is not to compete with or replace any of them, but to provide a unique platform where both basic research and clinical science can be studied side by side to contemplate, design, and develop applications of basic science in preclinical or clinical research. The overarching goal of the journal is to communicate emerging knowledge at a faster pace with an aim to accelerate bed-side research by taking into consideration the latest bench-side accomplishments. An additional benefit of an Open Access, online journal is enormous cost savings for libraries and institutions in terms of the high subscription rates and archival of the old journals.

consider following types of articles: Research, Hypotheses, Methodology, Short reports, Study protocols, short as well as comprehensive Reviews. Efforts have been made to select Editors from as diverse areas of HIV and AIDS research as possible. However, Editors from areas currently not represented in the Editorial Board will be included. Readers have the option of recommending scientists who may be suitable Editors and/or reviewers.

Rapid dissemination of science is crucial for the progress and survival of human kind. Let the wheel of communication roll at the fastest pace and to the widest possible world.