Highly prolific authors in medical science: from charisma to opportunism.

In medical science, publication record is considered to be a fundamental criterion to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and the reputation of institutions and individual scientists. In current academia, thousands of scientists demonstrate a hyperprolific academic behavior that is the resultant of multiple individual characteristics that can vary from extraordinary ability and teamwork to unjustified and unethical co-authorship. Editors, reviewers and readers should have high expectations from these authors in terms of research quality and ethos.