Evolutionary Trend Analysis of Research on 5-ALA Delivery and Theranostic Applications Based on a Scientometrics Study

Analysis of current trends in angiogenesis research for wound healing: A bibliometric study from 2013 to 2023

Background

Traumatic injuries, surgery, and chronic diseases lead to soft tissue wounds. Stimulating normal wound healing (WH) is important for tissue repair and restoration of homeostasis. Lack of angiogenesis impedes wound healing and is noted in chronic wounds. The goal of this investigation was to thoroughly assess the present state and patterns of investigations on angiogenesis in WH by the use of bibliometric analysis.

Methods

Studies examining angiogenesis and WH were sourced from the database of the Web of Science Core Collection. Only studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were chosen for the purpose of investigation. To analyze the publications included in this research, bibliometric and visual analysis techniques were applied utilizing tools like VOSviewer and CiteSpace.

Results

For the analysis, 11,558 papers were considered. The number of publications increased annually from 2013 to 2023. China, the USA, and South Korea were the top nations in this subject, accounting for 41.1 %, 19.4 %, and 5.8 % of published articles, respectively. The author and institution with the greatest number of publications were found to be Chang J and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. PLOS One had the greatest publication count among journals, whereas Biomaterials had the greatest number of citations and was often mentioned in co-citations. Angiogenesis-related biomedical engineering and tissue engineering were the topics that received the most research attention. Recent studies have focused on vascular endothelial growth factor and carboxymethyl chitosan as emerging areas of interest.

Conclusion

In this investigation, we compiled the features of publications and determined the most impactful nations, organizations, writers, periodicals, popular subjects, and patterns concerning the process of angiogenesis in the context of WH.

Efficacy and safety of fractional carbon dioxide laser followed by 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy for keloids

BACKGROUND

Keloids are aggressive fibroproliferative disorders that cause aesthetic and functional damage. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown promise as a novel treatment for keloids. However, the limited penetration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and unsatisfactory outcomes in dense scars hinder its effectiveness as a monotherapy. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of fractional CO2 laser followed by 5-ALA PDT for keloids.

METHODS

A total of 12 patients with keloid were included in our study. Each lesion was pretreated by fractional CO2 laser with 26-28 W to create microthermal zones. After topical application of 5-ALA solution, an irradiation of 635 nm red light with 120 J/cm2 was performed. The treatment was repeated at least every 2 weeks. Efficacy and safety were evaluated using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS), the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for keloid-related symptoms and documentation of postoperative complications. Statistical analysis was performed to compare VSS and keloid-related symptom VAS scores of the baseline and final treatment sessions.

RESULTS

The final treatment resulted in a statistically significant decrease in all parameters of VSS and VAS for pruritus and pain compared to the baseline. Except for postoperative hyperpigmentation, no infections, scar aggravation, or recurrence were observed during at least 6 months of follow-up. Overall, patients expressed a high level of satisfaction with the treatment outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Fractional CO2 laser followed by 5-ALA PDT is a promising method for treating keloids. However, its synergetic effects need to be validated through clinical trials involving larger patient cohorts.

Scientometric Research on Trend Analysis of Nano-Based Sustained Drug Release Systems for Wound Healing

Nanomaterials, such as the nanoparticle (NP), nanomicelle, nanoscaffold, and nano-hydrogel, have been researched as nanocarriers for drug delivery more and more recently. Nano-based drug sustained release systems (NDSRSs) have been used in many medical fields, especially wound healing. However, as we know, no scientometric analysis has been seen on applying NDSRSs in wound healing, which could be of great importance to the relevant researchers. This study collected publications from 1999 to 2022 related to NDSRSs in wound healing from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. We employed scientometric methods to comprehensively analyze the dataset from different perspectives using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix. The results indicated that China published the most significant number of documents in the last two decades, Islamic Azad Univ was the most productive institution, and Jayakumar, R was the most influential author. Regarding the analysis of keywords, trend topics indicate that "antibacterial", "chitosan (CS)", "scaffold", "hydrogel", "silver nanoparticle", and "growth factors (GFs)" are the hot topics in recent years. We anticipate that our work will provide a comprehensive overview of research in this field and help scholars better understand the research hotspots and frontiers in this area, thus inspiring further explorations in the future.

Molecular imaging research in atherosclerosis: A 23-year scientometric and visual analysis

Background: Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are major global health problems, and the main cause is atherosclerosis. Recently, molecular imaging has been widely employed in the diagnosis and therapeutic applications of a variety of diseases, including atherosclerosis. Substantive facts have announced that molecular imaging has broad prospects in the early diagnosis and targeted treatment of atherosclerosis. Objective: We conducted a scientometric analysis of the scientific publications over the past 23 years on molecular imaging research in atherosclerosis, so as to identify the key progress, hotspots, and emerging trends. Methods: Original research and reviews regarding molecular imaging in atherosclerosis were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Microsoft Excel 2021 was used to analyze the main findings. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and a scientometric online platform were used to perform visualization analysis of the co-citation of journals and references, co-occurrence of keywords, and collaboration between countries/regions, institutions, and authors. Results: A total of 1755 publications were finally included, which were published by 795 authors in 443 institutions from 59 countries/regions. The United States was the top country in terms of the number and centrality of publications in this domain, with 810 papers and a centrality of 0.38, and Harvard University published the largest number of articles (182). Fayad, ZA was the most productive author, with 73 papers, while LIBBY P had the most co-citations (493). CIRCULATION was the top co-cited journal with a frequency of 1,411, followed by ARTERIOSCL THROM VAS (1,128). The co-citation references analysis identified eight clusters with a well-structured network (Q = 0.6439) and highly convincing clustering (S = 0.8865). All the studies calculated by keyword co-occurrence were divided into five clusters: "nanoparticle," "magnetic resonance imaging," "inflammation," "positron emission tomography," and "ultrasonography". Hot topics mainly focused on cardiovascular disease, contrast media, macrophage, vulnerable plaque, and microbubbles. Sodium fluoride ⁃PET, targeted drug delivery, OCT, photoacoustic imaging, ROS, and oxidative stress were identified as the potential trends. Conclusion: Molecular imaging research in atherosclerosis has attracted extensive attention in academia, while the challenges of clinical transformation faced in this field have been described in this review. The findings of the present research can inform funding agencies and researchers toward future directions.