Welcome to the first issue of our 17th volume. Our journal remains committed to publishing high-quality research and supporting authors from developing countries in refining their manuscripts to meet international standards. This was our mission and vision from the first day, and we maintained it over the past 16 years.[1]
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[4] We strongly uphold the principles of peer review in scholarly work.[5] However, serious peer reviewing does not come easily. It takes much time and work to produce a report that helps the editors and authors. There is a serious shortage of peer reviewers worldwide.[6] We deeply appreciate the invaluable contributions of our reviewers, who work tirelessly to advance scientific knowledge and provide our authors with international exposure. Our editors and reviewers form a dedicated volunteer team to maintain the highest publishing standards. With our sponsors, they have generously covered the publication costs over the last 16 years, allowing researchers from low-income countries to share their work without worrying about publication fees. Hence, we help protect them from falling prey to predatory entities.[7]
The current issue presents diverse articles, including one review, four original research articles, a case series, and an image-based quiz. Sulthan Al Rashid et al provide a narrative review on the timely topic of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors as a dual therapeutic target for cardiovascular and renal health. SGLT-2 inhibitors have become integral tools in the management of type 2 diabetes, decreasing blood sugar levels and high blood pressure.
The first original article, by Okkes Zortuk et al, examines the effect of QT, QTc, and Tpe intervals on outcomes and mortality in syncope patients. They reviewed 80 patients and noticed the prolongation of T peak end (TP e). The second original article, by Rajaie A. Namas et al, presents a retrospective follow-up study on the clinical characteristics and burden of IgG4-related disease in the United Arab Emirates. They evaluated the existence and burden of this immune-related chronic illness with tumefactive lesions in the UAE. They observed the young age and the absence of pancreatic lesion as unique to their population. Beshyah et al contribute to the third study, an online survey exploring physicians' perceptions of and practices regarding metabolic dysfunction–associated liver disease. The fourth original article, by Khawaja Bilal Waheed et al, evaluates strategies and measures to improve breast imaging services in a general hospital in Saudi Arabia. In the last original article, Abdul Moqeeth Mohammed et al from Hamad present a case series of unprovoked venous thrombosis following COVID-19 vaccination and discuss the possible role of mRNA vaccines.
Finally, in our Pathology Corner, Saba Shafi and Samir Kahwash highlight a rare pathological phenomenon, a rare case of a 6-month-old infant with seizures, and they demonstrate cytoplasmic vacuoles in the lymphocytes in a sialic acid storage disorder.
Over the years, and especially recently, we have published articles from various medical and surgical specialties and countries. We will continue to support quality research and authors' rights to make their efforts known to others in the scientific communities across the globe. Although the journal achieved indexation in the Web of Science and now has a Clarivate impact factor, we know that most authors are clinicians who wish to see their work visible in PubMed. We are now advanced in our negotiations with our publisher to proceed with applications to the popular indexing services. We should have good news by the end of the year. In the interim, the journal is open access through and through, with free submission, editing, and publication, on one side, and freely available to all readers with no limitations whatsoever. The only determinant is submitting good-quality papers that can pass the peer review process.
