From Yesterday Until Today: To Celebrate a New Journal

This year 2025 marks the 40th anniversary for Medical Problems of Performing Artists. To mark this milestone, we are reprinting the Editorial from the first issue of the journal, written by foundingEditorAlice Brandfonbrener. In the mid-1980s, the original publishers, Hanley & Belfus, approached Dr. Brandfonbrener about the possibility of starting a journal focused on the health of performing artists. The ideas and purpose for the journal were laid out in this inaugural Editorial. While many of the initial ideas remain central to MPPA's mission, over time the journal has adapted to the ever-evolving scientific and publishing world. IRBs and informed consent, new study methodologies, new statistical approaches, Impact Factors, and now Open Access make MPPA much different from what it was in 1986. But the dedication to arts and artists expressed in Alice's Editorial remains constant.