[A farewell to Van Gijn]

Prof. Dr. J. van Gijn has stepped down as editor-in-chief of the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine), a position he has held for twelve years (1996-2007). The journal has greatly benefited from his scientific expertise and medical authority. In his detailed scrutiny of every submitted article, he adopted the position of a 'general clinical reader', wishing to look over the fence of his or her specialty and to learn about the developments in other medical areas. An editor of several major neurological journals, he introduced new sections, e.g. 'Diagnostic image' and 'Dutch research in foreign journals'. An important decision was to strengthen the didactic qualities of the journal, among other things by enhancing the journal's illustrations. His amiable way of dealing with authors, peer reviewers, his coeditors and the editorial staff, as well as his sense of humour, have left a lasting impression.