In 2003, Glaucoma Today debuted as a quarterly electronic journal. I had joined Bryn Mawr Communications LLC the previous year as editor-inchief of Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today, a position I still hold. That autumn, BMC's president, David Cox, approached me to discuss the idea of launching a publication devoted to glaucoma. I spent a fair amount of my time at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology chasing down glaucoma specialists with whom I had worked in the past and striving to convince them to join the editorial advisory board or at least contribute to the new publication.
GT's inaugural edition was released in February 2003 and remains available at the publication's website. It is interesting to review some of the topics covered, because they provide not just a glimpse at the early form of GT but also a snapshot of the field of glaucoma almost 10 years ago. In one article, four practitioners forecasted how they believed the first-line approval of Xalatan (latanoprost; Pfizer, Inc.) in December 2002 would affect clinical practice. Other physicians discussed the teaching points and implications of the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS), Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT), and Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS). Another article described a new surgical option, the Ex-Press Mini Glaucoma Shunt, the surgical approach for which has, of course, since changed and become the Ex-Press Glaucoma Filtration Device (Alcon Laboratories, Inc.).
Positive feedback led to an increase in GT's production to six issues annually and the release of issues in both a print and an electronic format in 2004. Since then, I am happy to say that GT's reception by the glaucoma community and the quality of its content have continued to improve, and the number of its contributors has grown steadily. When I recently asked some practitioners if they would share a few good words for the publication's media kit, which is given to potential advertisers, I was honored and humbled by the volume and enthusiasm of the responses.
The caliber and success of GT owe much to the efforts of the contributors, the guidance and investment of the editorial advisory board, the support of advertisers, and, especially, the positive response of the readership. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge in particular GT's first and current chief medical editors, Richard Lewis, MD, and Steven Vold, MD, respectively; the art department here at BMC; and my current and past fellow editors as well as our business team.
In recognition of GT's evolution, we are debuting a newly styled cover. The goal of the publication remains the same: to provide balanced, current, educational information to the physicians who treat patients with glaucoma. I hope that you enjoy this issue of GT. Here's to another 10 years!
