Top 10 Parkinson's Disease journals

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness month, and with Parkinson’s the fastest growing neurological disorder worldwide, it’s important to have a greater understanding of how it impacts not only those who have been diagnosed with the disease, but how continued research into this area could improve outcomes for patients.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement, and while signs and symptoms are different between those with the disorder, the most common ones include a tremor or shaking, slow movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements, changes in speech and changes in writing.

Caused by the breakdown of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain, most symptoms of Parkinson’s disease occur due to a loss of the neurons that produce dopamine. And when those levels drop, it affects brain activity which ultimately leads to diminished movement.

While there are some medications which can help with side effects of Parkinson’s disease, there is still no cure, and also not a lot of understanding around what causes the disorder. Consequently, this means little is known of how to reduce an individual’s risk of Parkinson’s.

Research continues to be key, which makes these journals listed below particularly important. And this April, those residing in the United States can participate in a national initiative that offers genetic testing for clinically relevant Parkinson’s-related genes. You can see more information here: PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease

Journal Metrics

Impact factor: is based on Web of Science data and only includes documents such as articles and reviews. It measures the average number of times an article is cited by other journal articles and documents. An impact factor of 3 or more is considered good, 1 is average. This list uses the 2-year impact factor from SCImago.

CiteScore: is based on Scopus data for all indexed documents, including articles, letters and editorials. Like impact factor, it measures the average citations received per document published in a journal over a 4-year time period.

Impact factor and CiteScore have the most meaning when used to compare journals within the same therapeutic area of subject. Many academics value a journal’s impact factor over its Citescore; therefore they will use the impact factor to rank other journals in the same field.

SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): measures the citations received from a journal but it also considers the importance of the journal where the citations have come from. This measurement can be helpful to rank journals within the same field and category.

Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): measures citations weighted by subject field. A SNIP over 1.0 means a journal has more citations than average.

Journal of Parkinson’s Disease

Impact Factor: 5.568

CiteScore: 6.8

SJR: 1.747

SNIP: 1.479

The Journal of Parkinson’s Disease is an internationally-renowned journal that publishes original research in basic science, translational research and clinical medicine – all in cooperation with the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. With a leading editorial board, rigorous peer review and rapid online publication, all reports, reviews, short communications and letters-to-the-editor are available as an affordable open access option.

Parkinsonism & Related Disorders

Impact Factor: 3.42

CiteScore: 6.2

SJR: 1.534

SNIP: 1.415

Parkinsonism & Related Disorders is an international journal that fosters communication between the research and clinical communities. Publishing the results of basic and clinical research, it aims to contribute to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of all neurodegenerative syndromes.

The most cited articles from this journal over the past three years include Dysbiosis of gut microbiota in a selected population of Parkinson’s patients, Predictors of health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease and Predictors of health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease.

Npj (Nature Partner Journal) Parkinson’s Disease

Impact Factor: 8.651

CiteScore: 10.3

SJR: 3.02

SNIP: 2.065

Nature.com publishes the npj Parkinson’s Disease journal, in partnership with the Parkinson’s Foundation, and is devoted to providing the most important scientific advances in Parkinson’s disease research. It’s online-only, and open access, to ensure immediate accessibility to all members of the scientific and Parkinson’s disease community.

Neurology

Impact Factor: 8.485

CiteScore: 9.6

SJR: 2.91

SNIP: 2.476

Neurology is the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology, which has collections of research dedicated to Parkinson’s disease/Parkinsonism. It is the leading clinical neurology journal worldwide, and is aimed at physicians who specialise with diseases and conditions of the nervous system. Its purpose is to present new basic and clinical research, with an emphasis on knowledge to impact on how neurology is practised.

Translational Neurodegeneration

Impact Factor: 8.014

CiteScore: 10.9

SJR: 2.565

SNIP: 2.011

All articles published by Translational Neurodegeneration are freely and permanently accessible online, without subscription or registration required. It is a peer-reviewed journal that covers research, therapeutics and education for all aspects of neurodegenerative diseases including (but not limited to) Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. Topics of interest range from epidemiology and pathogenesis, research into diagnosis and prevention, development of new drugs and cell therapy, drug delivery and rehabilitation.

Annals of Neurology

Impact Factor: 10.422

CiteScore: 15.2

SJR: 4.764

SNIP: 2.701

The Annals of Neurology is the official journal of the American Neurological Association, and aims to publish a range of articles with broad interest and high impact for understanding the mechanisms and treatment of diseases of the nervous system. Some of their most cited articles in regards to Parkinson’s disease include ‘The new mutation, E46K, of α-synuclein causes parkinson and Lewy body dementia’ ‘Adaptive deep brain stimulation in advanced Parkinson disease’ and ‘Vagotomy and subsequent risk of Parkinson’s disease’.

Movement Disorders

Impact Factor: 10.338

CiteScore: 13.3

SJR: 3.352

SNIP: 2.495

Movement Disorders is the official journal of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. It publishes 14 issues per year, but also provides supplements on special topics for subscribers. Their most read articles include ‘Type 2 Diabetes as a Determinant of Parkinson’s Disease Risk and Progression’, ‘MIND and Mediterranean Diets Associated with Later Onset of Parkinson’s Disease’ and ‘Parkinson’s Disease and Post–COVID-19 Syndrome: The Parkinson’s Long-COVID Spectrum’.

European Journal of Neurology

Impact Factor: 6.089

CiteScore: 7.4

SJR: 1.881

SNIP: 1.785

The European Journal of Neurology is the official journal from the European Academy of Neurology and is an international peer-reviewed publication which covers the whole field of neurology. The target audience are neurologists who are non-specialised, and those who have a specific field of interest and want to stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and research. Using advanced production methods, it is able to provide rapid publication and welcomes submission of papers from all over the world.

Neurobiology of Disease

Impact Factor: 5.996

CiteScore: 8.6

SJR: 2.205

SNIP: 1.193

The Neurobiology of Disease is an open access journal, with international notoriety for being at the interface between basic and clinical neuroscience. It is a forum for the publication of top quality research papers on a variety of neuroscience topics including molecular and cellular definitions of disease mechanisms, nervous system ageing and findings that are related to the innovation of new therapies. The journal’s most cited article is ‘Lysosome trafficking and signalling in health and neurodegenerative diseases’, and one of its most downloaded articles is ‘Autonomic dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease: Implications for pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment’.

Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology

Impact Factor: 8.090

CiteScore: 11.5

SJR: 2.538

SNIP: 1.696

Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology is sponsored by the British Neuropathological Society and is ranked in the top 10% of journals in the field of Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience. With a focus on the disease mechanisms and clinical pathology of disorders of the brain, nerve and muscle, the journal was established in 1974 and has earned a place as one of the global leaders of neurology publications via original papers and authoritative reviews.