Submissions and Author Guidelines

Headache Medicine is the official journal of the Brazilian Headache Society (SBCe). It is published continuos with the purpose of recording and disseminating the scientific production and contributions of the scientific community in the area of ​​headache and orofacial pain. Submitted articles considered by the appropriate editors for publication in the journal will be evaluated by at least two reviewers (single-blind) and then accepted or rejected according to the peer review system and editor's opinion.

Author Guidelines (Updated March 2026)

Headache Medicine aims to attract specialists in headache, working in continuing education with clinical and experimental publications. Also aiming to stimulate research with animal models to better understand the pathophysiology of diseases and drug action. Monitor innovations in the area of headache diagnosis and treatment.

Areas of interest: The editorial board accepts manuscripts in English on headache and orofacial pain. Our scope encompasses clinical and experimental, qualitative and quantitative research.

Types of articles: Articles are published in each edition in ordered sections: editorial, opinion, reviews, original, letter to the editor, case report, and image in headache.

Periodicity: Continuous publication.

All articles are peer-reviewed (simple blind) , and the editor responsible for the evaluation process is informed in the published article.

The Journal adopts the  Similarity Check to identify plagiarism.

Author charges: Headache Medicine is an open-access journal and does not charge fees for article submission, review, and publication. All processes are performed electronically.

 

We recommend that authors carefully read the instructions before submitting their article.

 

General observations

- Manuscripts written in English are preferred, but those written in Portuguese and Spanish are also accepted, provided that at least one of the authors is a member of the Brazilian Headache Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Cefaleia – SBCe). In these cases, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, SBCe will cover the cost of the translation into English.
- The full title and abstract must be written in English and Portuguese, and the title is limited to a maximum of 50 characters.
-The abstract must be structured and include the following elements: Introduction, Methodology, Discussion, and Conclusion, except for narrative reviews, for which an unstructured format is permitted.
- It is mandatory to list the institution in which the work was performed, as well as the full name of the authors, without abbreviations. Including: the name of the institution, city, state, and country. The ORCID of all authors must also be provided.
- The author's contributions should be declared following concerning the 4 points of authorship attribution contained in topic 2 of the CRediT.
- The e-mail of the corresponding author must be included.
- The manuscript must be submitted in a .docx file (double-spaced, Arial or Times New Roman, font 12) and should include abstracts in English and Portuguese, up to 250 words, and three to five descriptors (keywords or descriptors).
- Funding: Headache Medicine requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading written before the References topic. Please confirm the funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
-It is not necessary to include academic degrees (DDS, MSc, PhD, etc.) and/or authors’ positions (Professor, Graduate Student, etc.).
- Funding and Conflict of Interest: Headache Medicine requires that all authors disclose any sources of funding and potential conflicts of interest. This statement must be included in the manuscript file before the References section. If not applicable, please state:
     *This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
     *The authors declare no conflict of interest related to the preparation and content of this work.

Headache Medicine respects the Ethical Conduct and Good Publication Practices (Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing) published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association ( OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Singapore and Hong Kong Declaration on Research Integrity.

The use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the text must be declared in the cover letter and submission process (when applicable) following COPE recommendations. https://publicationethics.org/resources/discussion-documents/artifical-intelligence-ai-decision-making

 

Headache Medicine recommends that manuscripts should comply with the following guidelines before manuscript submission:
• CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)

• STARD (Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies)

• PRISMA (Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes)

• STROBE (Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology)

Headache Medicine is an open-access journal and does not charge any fees for article submission, proofreading, translation, and publication. All processes are performed electronically.

 

Preparation and Formatting of Manuscripts
This section outlines the requirements for formatting manuscripts submitted to the journal. It describes the guidelines for citations and references, as well as specific instructions for including figures and tables. In addition, the requirements for each article type are detailed.

Bibliographic references and citations
References should be Vancouver style, with the DOI number added at the end. The citations should be numbered as they appear in the text (download of style available). We encourage the author to utilize a reference manager (Mendeley or EndNote).

Figures and Tables
Photographs, graphs, flowcharts, schemes, diagrams, and drawings must be identified as figures. They should be included in the text immediately after they are cited and accompanied by their respective captions below the figure. The CMYK standard should be used for illustrations and images and the minimum resolution is 300 dpi. Only TIFF, JPG or CDR formats will be accepted. 

Tables should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and cited in the text in numerical order. Tables should be as DOC files instead of image files.

Original article
4,000 words maximum, including references. Title in English and Portuguese, and title up to 50 characters. Abstract in English and Portuguese or English and Spanish (up to 250 words each). Tables and figures: up to 7. References: up to 50. The text should be divided into sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Review article
Maximum of 5,000 words, including references. Abstract in English and Portuguese (up to 250 words each). Figures and Tables: up to 7. References: up to 100. Title in English and Portuguese, and title up to 50 characters. A Review Article should include a synthesis and critical analysis of a relevant area, not just a chronological description of the publications. It should be written by a researcher who has significant contributions in the specific area of ​​headache or related areas.

Case Report
1,800 words maximum (including references). Number of authors: up to five. Abstract in English and Portuguese: maximum 250 words each. Figures and Tables: up to 2. References: up to 20. Title in English and Portuguese. In addition to the general observations, it must have at least one of the following characteristics: (a) be of particular interest to the scientific community; (b) be a rare case, particularly useful for demonstrating disease mechanisms or diagnostic problems; (c) presents a new diagnostic method or treatment modality. The text should be divided into Introduction, Case Report and Discussion and should describe only well-defined, unambiguous and relevant conclusions.

Letter to the Editor
1,000 words maximum (including references). The Abstract topic is not necessary. Number of authors: up to four. References: up to seven. Title in English and Portuguese and title up to 50 characters. The format is free and, in addition to the general remarks, may include a maximum of two illustrations (photographs, tables, figures). 

Opinion
Maximum 3,000 words, including references. Unstructured abstract in English and Portuguese up to 250 words. Figures and tables (up to 4) are encouraged to support the arguments.

Image Section
300 words maximum (no Abstract). Title in English and Portuguese. One or two images and up to three authors. Maximum of 3 references.

 

Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to Headache Medicine are evaluated by experts in the relevant field through a single-blind peer review process, in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies. This process ensures the scientific quality, editorial integrity, and relevance of the articles published.

Editorial Workflow
Headache Medicine uses an electronic submission and editorial management system. The editorial process includes the following stages:

   Inicial Screening
The editorial office checks whether the submitted files comply with the journal’s submission guidelines. Manuscripts that do not meet the requirements will be returned to the corresponding author for correction or completion of missing information. 

     Editorial Assessment
The Editor-in-Chief conducts an initial evaluation to determine whether the manuscript fits the journal’s scope and complies with the editorial guidelines. Manuscripts that fall outside the journal’s scope may be rejected at this stage.

Manuscripts that pass this stage may be assigned to Associate Editors, who invite at least two external expert reviewers in the relevant field.

Peer Review (Single-Blind)
Reviewers evaluate the manuscript and any supplementary materials in accordance with the Guidelines for Reviewers. Based on their evaluation, the manuscript may be:

  • Accepted without revision

  • Accepted with mandatory revisions

  • Rejected

     Mandatory Revisions
When revisions are required, the authors receive a detailed decision letter outlining the reviewers’ comments and the deadline for submitting a revised version. The revised manuscript may be reassessed by the reviewers to verify whether the requested modifications have been adequately addressed or appropriately justified.

Editorial Decision
Based on the reviewers’ reports, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of the manuscript. Accepted manuscripts proceed to the technical editing stage.

Technical Editing
At this stage, manuscripts undergo language editing, translation (when necessary), formatting, and typesetting. Additional adjustments may be requested from the authors if needed.

Proofreading
Proofreading corresponds to the final review of the typeset manuscript. The corresponding author must approve the final version or request corrections within 48 hours after notification.

This stage refers to the manuscript and any supplementary materials (when applicable) after typesetting and is not publicly available. The peer review reports are not published.

Average Review Time
When manuscripts comply with all submission guidelines, the average time from submission to editorial decision is approximately 10 weeks.

SUBMISSION

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • We accept the submission of previously deposited manuscripts on a preprint server. The author must inform the condition of the manuscript and purchase the deposit on the preprint server.
  • The submission file is in Microsoft Word file format.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.


Step-by-step 

Click on “Login” if you have already registered on the site, otherwise click on “Register” to do so.

Although the submission is carried out by only one of the authors of the abstract, we recommend that the registration on the website is carried out by all the authors of the abstract.

You will be taken to a new page that contains five steps:
1. Start, 2. Upload Submission, 3. Enter Metadata, 4. Confirmation and 5. Next Steps.

1. Start
Add the submission language.
Put it in “Section” and select the type of work being submitted.
In the comments to the editor, write your cover letter.
Finally, communicate if you will be the mailing contact.

Click “Save and Continue” to be taken to the second step.

2. Upload Submission
- Upload the summary file in “Add File”
- After downloading, click on the “Article Text” option
- Select the “Save and Continue” button to be redirected to the third step.

3. Enter Metadata
Enter the title of your article only in the “Title” space. Even if it contains prefixes and subtitles, do not write in these spaces.

Add abstract text (no title, authors, affiliation, and keywords/descriptors) up to 300 characters.

*After adding the abstract, click outside the box for the co-author inclusion list to appear. Click on “Add Contributor,” and you will be redirected to a tab that contains essential and complementary information to fill in with the data of each co-author.

- Enter First Name, Last Name*:
In “Name” you must put all the names and first names.
In “Surname” put only the last surname, with the exception of: Junior, Filho, Neto.
Comments:
• Must not put demonstrative pronouns in the last name box along with the last last name like: de, da, do.
• Example of Filling: “José Pereira da Silva Filho”
First name: José Pereira da
Last name: Silva Filho
- Email*: enter your best email
- Country*.
- Orcid ID*: enter the full ORCiD link
(must be added in this template https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000)
If the author does not yet have an ORCiD number, register quickly and easily at https://orcid.org/
- Affiliation*: Institution where you study/work, (name of university, city where it is located, state, country),
- Biography summary: it is not necessary to fill in this box
- Contributor role*: click on author

*Mandatory data

- Add if the included author is the main contact, if not, leave it unchecked.
- Check “Include included author in browse lists?'' for all authors
After completing the previous steps, click on “Save”
- Repeat the process for each co-author.

In the additional refinements part, add the keywords and article references as per the Authors' Guidelines.
Put one keyword in the box (all keywords must start with a capital letter) at a time and hit the Enter key before the next keyword. Put just the keyword, no punctuation.

After adding the previous information, select the “Save and continue” button to be redirected to the fourth step. confirmation

Check in the previous steps if all the necessary data were added correctly in the steps “”, “Transfer the manuscript” and “Insert metadata”. After this process, click on “Finish Submission”.

4. Next Steps
You will be directed to the submission screen, where you can follow the evaluation, acceptance and publication process.