The role of apoptosis in spinal cord injury: a bibliometric analysis from 1994 to 2023

Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2024 · DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1334092 · Published: January 16, 2024

Spinal Cord Injury Genetics Research Methodology & Design

Simple Explanation

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is crucial in spinal cord injury (SCI). It's an active cell death process with internal controls and distinct cell morphology. SCI can result in sensory and motor deficits, and severe cases can even lead to death, causing emotional, physical, and economic burdens. Bibliometric analysis can provide an overview and identify promising future directions in apoptosis and SCI research.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
The USA and China were the most productive countries in apoptosis and SCI research.
2
Journal of Neurotrauma was the most impactful journal in the field.
3
Mesenchymal stemness cell (MSC) transplantation, inhibiting the nlrp3 inflammasome, reducing neuroinflammation, knockdown of inflammatory-activation-related factors and the inflammatory pathways in SCI might be trending topics in the future.

Research Summary

This study investigated 3,359 documents published from 1994 to 2023 regarding apoptosis and SCI. Among all the relevant countries, China ranked the first in aspect of the overall number of publications, while the USA was the most influential country. Apoptosis after primary SCI may have important effects on secondary SCI mechanisms, which cause the ultimate neurological deficits, whereas the molecular and cellular mechanisms require in-depth exploration.

Practical Implications

Development of Novel Treatments

A better understanding of apoptosis-related mechanisms in molecular and cellular levels is essential for developing novel treatments for secondary SCI.

Therapeutic Interventions

Therapeutic interventions should involve anti-apoptotic agents, free radical scavengers, and anti-inflammatory drugs targeted to inhibit core events in cellular and molecular injury cascade pathways.

Multi-pronged Therapies

Combination treatments targeting different programmed cell death modalities may be more effective strategies for SCI.

Study Limitations

1
Focused only on literature from the public data source.
2
May have underestimated documents recently published in high-quality journals, which exhibited low citation number during the period.
3
Only analyzed the key words occurring more than 10 times in the field, which may overlook some recent key words.

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