40 Years of Hämostaseologie – Progress in Haemostasis

Rüdiger E. Scharf

2020 is a special year for the Journal, as Hämostaseologie – Progress in Haemostasis will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Thus, together with Thrombosis et Diathesis Haemorrhagica, the former name of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (founded in 1957), and Thrombosis Research (founded in 1972), Hämostaseologie is one of the few traditional publication platforms that bear their specific scientific focus in the Journal's name.

Brief History

Hämostaseologie was founded in 1980 by Rudolf Marx (Munich) two years before the multinational Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research (GTH) was established, thereby replacing the German Working Party on Blood Coagulation (Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Blutgerinnungsforschung, DAB, founded in 1956).[1] Marx was not only the founding father who provided the Journal's name but the doyen of “Hämostaseologie” per se. He first used and defined the designation ‘Hämostaseologie’ (which literally translates into ‘science of hemostasis’) in his Habilitations-schrift in 1953.[2] For almost one decade, Rudolf Marx managed the Journal successfully together with Paul Matis (Schattauer Publishers). Subsequent editors-in-chief or managing editors included Erwin Deutsch (Vienna), Hanns Gotthard Lasch (Gießen), Klaus Lechner (Vienna), Dieter Heene (Mannheim), Reinhard Schneppenheim (Hamburg), Bernhard Lämmle (Bern), Wolfgang Schramm (Munich), Hans-Dietrich Bruhn (Kiel), and Christine Mannhalter (Vienna). In the Journal's early years, papers were exclusively published in German. Interestingly, a major objective of these editors was to provide an interdisciplinary forum for specialists and opinion leaders (“Interdisziplinäre Zeitschrift für Meinungsbildner”), as outlined in the former Journal's subtitle. Only by the mid-1990s, advanced training and continuing medical education, specifically provided by invited reviews and the Journal's theme issues, became another focus of the editorial board and the publisher.

Scope and Publication formats

During the past four decades, the Journal has undergone several changes, including the switch from German to English publications. This change primarily reflects the GTH's move from a trinational society of German speaking countries (‘D-A-CH’) to a true European scientific society[3]. Moreover, the subtitle ‘Progress in Haemostasis’ was added to the Journal's name to underline its international approach. A more recent change has been the transition of the Journal from Schattauer to Thieme Publishers in 2018.[4]

We continue to publish state-of-the-art reviews and original work in basic and clinical research covering the broad area of thrombosis and hemostasis both in vascular biology and vascular medicine, including translational research. Along with its 40 years of tradition, the focus of the Journal is on congenital and acquired hemorrhagic and thromboembolic disorders, their diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Categories other than reviews or original communications include highlight articles and commentaries on hot topics, brief illustrated case studies (“Images in thrombosis & haemostasis”), guideline and GTH position papers, reports of GTH working groups, case reports, letters to the editor, announcements, and GTH news. Thus, Hämostaseologie – Progress in Haemostasis provides an interdisciplinary forum to the community of clinicians, physician-scientists, and cell biologists to exchange and discuss information and ideas. Invited review articles on key topics presented in plenary sessions or state-of-the-art lectures at the annual GTH meeting complete the spectrum of published papers in the Journal.

Current edition

I am delighted that this year's presidents of the 64^th Annual GTH Meeting have accepted our invitation to become Guest Editors of the Journal's traditional congress issue. Those who have ever been in charge of this role are aware how challenging the task can be to organize a congress, design the scientific program, and edit proceedings. Prof. Florian Langer did a superb job in organizing and coordinating this edition, including the peer review process of all contributions submitted by invited speakers. Florian was so successful that the number of submissions exceeds, by far, the number of articles that can be printed in a single edition. Consequently, this issue presents part I of the Bremen Meeting; part II of the GTH Congress 2020 articles will be published in one of the upcoming editions.

An introduction to the selection of invited contributions to the congress is given by Prof. Thomas Renné and Prof. Florian Langer in their editorial focusing on “Novel Concepts for a Lifetime Challenge”, the motto of the 64^th Annual GTH Meeting.[5] I trust that the congress attendees will appreciate the opportunity to find relevant take home messages already in printed version when arriving at the GTH Meeting.

As Editor, I am grateful to the authors, the Editorial Board Members and the referees for their work and input, and, last but not least, to our loyal readership. With this editorial, I am extending best wishes for 2020 to our readers. We thank you for your interest, your trust and your suggestions – stay with us.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

• References

• 1 Lechner K. 50 years GTH -- expectations, progress, disappointments. A personal perspective. Hamostaseologie 2006; 26: 5-6 , 8–12.
• 2 Marx R. Hämostaseologie. Habilitationsschrift. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universiät München; 1953
• 3 Scharf RE, Kemkes-Matthes B. Hamostaseologie--Progress in Haemostasis. GTH is moving to a European scientific society. Hamostaseologie 2016; 36: 5-6
• 4 Scharf RE. Changes and Challenges. Hamostaseologie 2019; 39: 1-3
• 5 Langer F, Renné T. Novel concepts for a lifetime challenge. Hamostaseologie 2020; 40: 9