Asad Ali

This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief as it contains significant plagiarism from Biso S, Wongrakpanich S, Agrawal A, Yadlapati S, Kishlyansky M, Figueredo V. A Review of Neurogenic Stunned Myocardium. Cardiovasc Psychiatry Neurol. 2017;2017:5842182. 10.1155/2017/5842182 A key condition of article submission is that authors must explicitly declare that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data must be appropriately cited. This duplication was not detected by Cureus plagiarism check software as much of the material had been rewritten just enough to avoid detection. While the authors have maintained that this was the result of working with a contract editor, they are ultimately responsible for the draft submitted. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The Cureus Journal of Medical Science takes a very strong view on this matter and we apologize that this was not detected during the submission process. The relevant author institutions and departments have been notified.

This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief as it contains significant plagiarism from Yeo S, Dias S, Isenberg D. Advances in systemic lupus erythematosus. Medicine. 2018;46(2):84-92. 10.1016/j.mpmed.2017.11.010 A key condition of article submission is that authors must explicitly declare that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data must be appropriately cited. This duplication was not detected by Cureus plagiarism check software as much of the material had been rewritten just enough to avoid detection. While the authors have maintained that this was the result of working with a contract editor, they are ultimately responsible for the draft submitted. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The Cureus Journal of Medical Science takes a very strong view on this matter and we apologize that this was not detected during the submission process. The relevant author institutions and departments have been notified.

This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief as it contains significant plagiarism from Douglas-Moore JL, Goddard J. Current best practice in the management of cystitis and pelvic pain. Therapeutic Advances in Urology. 2018;10(1):17-22. 10.1177/1756287217734167 A key condition of article submission is that authors must explicitly declare that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data must be appropriately cited. This duplication was not detected by Cureus plagiarism check software as much of the material had been rewritten just enough to avoid detection. While the authors have maintained that this was the result of working with a contract editor, they are ultimately responsible for the draft submitted. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The Cureus Journal of Medical Science takes a very strong view on this matter and we apologize that this was not detected during the submission process. The relevant author institutions and departments have been notified.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease with varied natural history and multisystemic involvement. The pathogenesis is multifactorial and complex precipitating the formation of autoantibodies. One of the main factors in SLE is the interaction between environmental triggers and genetic factors. Genome-wide association study technology has led to the identification of more than 80 loci which produce key proteins that lead to small pathophysiological changes and are associated with SLE. There has been an improvement in the management of the disease with newly standardized scores that have been validated in assessing disease activity and quality of life, and have helped in clinical care as well as research. The last five decades have seen a marked improvement in the prognosis of SLE, thanks to better general care and the development of newer immunosuppressive drugs, more specifically biological agents.

The prolonged use of levodopa for treating Parkinson’s disease is associated with motor and nonmotor complications. These include wearing-off, delayed-on, partial-on, no-on, and on-off phenomena. In the wearing-off effect, symptoms return before a patient's next scheduled dose of levodopa. Patients may present with motor, sensory, or autonomic fluctuations. In this report, we present a female patient experiencing numbness of lips and slurred speech as a symptom of wearing-off effect. The major differential for sudden numbness of lips and slurred speech includes transient ischemic attacks. Therefore, it is imperative to identify the cause of these episodes so that appropriate treatment can be initiated. Our patient underwent extensive cardiac and neurological investigations, the findings of which were unremarkable. Her symptoms were likely due to levodopa wearing-off. Her condition improved on changing her levodopa to a sustained release form with more frequent dosing along with the addition of ropinirole to her treatment regimen.

Obesity and dementia are both associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and underlying neurodegenerative changes. Review articles provide evidential support that obesity and dementia result in an early old-age memory crisis. Obesity triggering vascular dementia decreases not only blood supply to the brain, but also increases fat cells that damage the brain white matter leading to loss of cognitive and intellectual behaviour. Adipocyte-secreted proteins and inflammatory cytokines explain the association between obesity and increased risk of dementia. Late-life elevated body mass index (BMI) confers a lower risk of having dementia. The hormone leptin explained the mechanism for the reverse association. Future studies need to reveal the linkage between adiposity and excess risk of dementia and AD.

The number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases is increasing in Pakistan while it has seen a decline globally. A survey conducted recently has found that 132,000 people in Pakistan suffer from HIV. This study aims to check the levels of knowledge and attitudes about HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among medical and dental students. This cross-sectional study was designed and conducted at Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College and the Institute of Dentistry (CMH LMC) in Lahore, Pakistan in 2016. Students enrolled in the courses of the MBBS and BDS were included in this study. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: demographics, knowledge and attitude. A total of 414 students completed the questionnaire and out of them, 286 were medical students while the rest were dental students. The mean ± standard deviation score for the students was 10.02 ± 4.37 out of 17 for knowledge related to HIV and AIDS. For acceptable attitude towards AIDS and patients afflicted with the disease, an outcome of 1.93 ± 0.75 out of 4 was observed. The results of this study indicate lack of knowledge about HIV, especially about the modes of transmission and prevention techniques. Therefore, regular interactive workshops and seminars, besides teaching sessions, focused lectures on HIV/AIDS, need to be conducted.