Bibliometrics of trends in global research on the roles of stem cells in myocardial fibrosis therapy

Abstract

Background: Myocardial fibrosis, a condition linked to several cardiovascular diseases, is associated with a poor prognosis. Stem cell therapy has emerged as a potential treatment option and the application of stem cell therapy has been studied extensively. However, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of these studies has yet to be conducted.

Aim: To map thematic trends, analyze research hotspots, and project future directions of stem cell-based myocardial fibrosis therapy.

Methods: We conducted a bibliometric and visual analysis of studies in the Web of Science Core Collection using VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel. The dataset included 1510 articles published between 2001 and 2024. Countries, organizations, authors, references, keywords, and co-citation networks were examined to identify evolving research trends.

Results: Our findings revealed a steady increase in the number of publications, with a projected increase to over 200 publications annually by 2030. Initial research focused on stem cell-based therapy, particularly for myocardial infarction and heart failure. More recently, there has been a shift toward cell-free therapy, involving extracellular vesicles, exosomes, and microRNAs. Key research topics include angiogenesis, inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, and oxidative stress.

Conclusion: This analysis highlights the evolution of stem cell therapies for myocardial fibrosis, with emerging interest in cell-free approaches. These results are expected to guide future scientific exploration and decision-making.

Keywords: Bibliometrics; Cardiovascular diseases; Myocardial fibrosis; Stem cells; VOSviewer.

Figure 1

Publication output for myocardial fibrosis and stem cells. A: Annual quantitative distribution of publications (the solid line) and the polynomial fitting function (the dotted line). Y-axis represents the number of articles and X-axis represents the year; B: Cumulative number of publications by year.

Figure 2

Contributions of countries/regions, contributions and collaborations between organizations, and contributions and collaborations of authors in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. A: Contributions of countries/regions in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with countries/regions of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of publications, with larger labels representing a higher volume of publications; B: Contributions and collaborations between organizations in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with organizations of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of publications, with larger labels representing a higher volume of publications; C: Contributions and collaborations of authors in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with authors of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of publications, with larger labels representing a higher volume of publications.

Figure 3

Distribution of co-cited authors, journals, co-cited journals, and co-cited references in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. A: Distribution of co-cited authors in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with co-cited authors of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of citations, with larger labels representing a higher volume of citations; B: Distribution of journals in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with journals of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of publications, with larger labels representing a higher volume of publications; C: Distribution of co-cited journals in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with co-cited journals of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of citations, with larger labels representing a higher volume of citations; D: Distribution of co-cited references in myocardial fibrosis and stem cell research. The colors represent different clusters of collaborative relationships, with co-cited references of the same color being more closely connected. The scale of the labels indicates the number of citations, with larger labels representing a higher volume of citations.

Figure 4

Overlay visualization map of co-occurring keywords related to myocardial fibrosis and stem cells. The colors reflect the research activity or development stages over time, with early studies typically shown in blue and more recent ones in yellow. The scale of the labels indicates the number of occurrences, with larger labels representing a higher volume of occurrences.