1. Human Research
1.1 Ethical approval
- All studies included in reviews must have been conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, latest revision).
- Authors should confirm that cited clinical trials and observational studies were approved by an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board.
1.2 Informed consent
- Reviews must only include data from studies in which informed consent from participants (or their legal guardians) was obtained, as reported by the original authors.
1.3 Clinical trial registration
- For systematic reviews and meta-analyses of clinical trials, authors are encouraged to provide registration details of the included studies (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP).
- Registration of review protocols in PROSPERO (or equivalent registry) is strongly encouraged, though not mandatory.
2. Animal Research
2.1 Reporting standards
- If reviews cite preclinical or in vivo studies, the authors must ensure that those studies complied with relevant international guidelines, such as:
- Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
- ARRIVE Guidelines (Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments)
- or equivalent national/international frameworks.
3. Confidentiality and Privacy
3.1 Patient data
- Reviews must not disclose any personal or identifiable patient information.
- If figures, case descriptions, or images are reproduced from other works, authors are responsible for ensuring that original publications had appropriate patient consent.
4. Ethical Oversight
4.1 Editorial responsibility
- The GMR editorial team reserves the right to request clarification regarding the ethical approval of studies cited in a review.
- Manuscripts that include references to research conducted without appropriate ethical oversight may be rejected.
🔗 Key Resources