WFNS Journal: The Neurosurgical Silk Road

Several years ago, on a small lake island off Hugo in Sweden, a pristine copper statue of a seated Buddha was found. Although a classic sculpture, the irony was that it had been made 1,500 years earlier in the Swat Valley of Pakistan.[1] This was the wonder of the Silk Road.

We often associate the Silk Road with the westward movement of silk along desert passes or spices carried across vast distances, with images of Marco Polo, explorers, industry, and intellectual exchange. The term itself was first used by the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877, who coined “Seidenstraße,” later translated into English as “Silk Road.”

The WFNS Journal hopes to be the Silk Road of global neurosurgery, a place where new ideas from different parts of the world can be shared, building a community for more than 40,000 neurosurgeons.

Having now served as Editor-in-Chief for over a year, it has been my privilege to see the number of articles submitted and published continue to grow. We are especially encouraged to see contributions from low- and middle-income countries, and I want to extend an invitation to all colleagues to join this neurosurgical Silk Road.

As part of this vision, the WFNS Journal remains fully open access, ensuring that knowledge is freely available to all neurosurgeons regardless of geography or resources. Just as the Silk Road connected distant regions without barriers, open access removes walls between researchers, practitioners, and trainees, enabling equitable participation in advancing neurosurgical science. We look forward to your enthusiastic submissions, ideas, and reviews for the journal.

We are also pleased to highlight four new special issues currently underway:

1. Neurosurgery in Africa: Charting a Path to Excellence. Guest Editor: Temitayo Shokunbi.

2. Global Application of Evidence-Based Medicine: Adapting Guidelines to Real-World Scenarios. Guest Editors: Alba Scerrati and Luca Ricciardi.

3. Special Issue on Peripheral Nerve (in Memory of David Kline). Guest Editor: Robert J. Spinner.

4. Special Issue on Endovascular (in Memory of Nick Hopkins). Guest Editors: Elad Levy, Bernard Bendok, and Alan Boulos.

The traditional concept has often been of the West supporting the East with ideas. In reality, some of the best ideas have originated in the East and spread globally. For example, oral rehydration solution was first developed in Bangladesh in the 1960s to treat cholera victims, saving millions of lives,[2] before evolving into what became known worldwide as a sports drink (Gatorade).[3] And so the intellectual cross pollination continues in our global neurosurgery community with the help of the WFNS despite past turmoil.

This Grand Special Issue of the WFNS Journal embodies that very spirit.

This landmark issue represents the culmination of contributions from across the world—a true reflection of our mission to build a neurosurgical Silk Road. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all authors, reviewers, and editors who have joined us on this journey so far, by submitting, reviewing, and sharing their work. Your engagement transforms this vision into reality.

Among the many outstanding papers published since the journal's launch, the five articles featured in this Grand Special Issue have been selected by our distinguished jury as exemplars of innovation, global relevance, and scientific excellence. My sincere thanks go to the jury members Kate Drummond, Yoko Kato, and Franco Servadei for their dedication and discernment in making this difficult selection.

This Grand Special Issue marks the first in a series of milestone editions that will celebrate excellence in different fields of neurosurgery. Together with our upcoming thematic special issues, it underscores our commitment to connecting ideas, institutions, and individuals—expanding our neurosurgical Silk Road even further.

Over 35 years ago, Voyager 1 photographed Earth from 6 billion kilometers away, on February 14, 1990. Carl Sagan famously described it as a “pale blue dot,” a speck suspended in a sunbeam, capturing the fragility and unity of our shared planet.[4] On that dot lies everyone you love, everyone you know, every human being who has ever lived. Let us unite on this pale blue dot and revel in the sunbeam of our glorious neurosurgical profession.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
01. Dezember 2025

• References

• 1 Arbman H. Helgö: Excavations 1954–1971. Vol. I, Report on the Excavations by Hjalmar Arbman. Almqvist & Wiksell; 1980. Swedish History Museum. Helgö Excavations Vol. I
• 2 Cash RA, Nalin DR, Rochat R, Reller LB, Haque ZA, Rahman M. A clinical trial of oral therapy in a rural cholera-treatment center in Bangladesh. Lancet 1970; 296 (7664): 441-443
• 3 Pierce NF, Hirschhorn N, Rahman AS. et al. Oral fluid therapy of cholera in adults. Lancet 1969; 293 (7602): 370-373
• 4 NASA. Voyager 1's Pale Blue Dot. NASA Science; 2020. NASA link: science.nasa.gov