Shi Anni, Chen Na, Ma Qin, Wang Yaxuan, Liu Xiaoling, Lu Jun, Guo Jianyou
College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tui Na, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Int J Med Sci. 2025 May 28;22(11):2700-2720. doi: 10.7150/ijms.100888. eCollection 2025.
Neuroinflammation lays a prominent impact in the pathophysiology of depression, and numerous studies have been conducted in recent decades. Bibliometric analysis is of important for understanding the hot spots and research trends in a certain subject field. However, no systematic bibliometric study exists in this field to date. The purpose of the study focused on the trends and hotspots in neuroinflammation of depression and provided future researchers with guidance and sights. Publications (2004-2023) were obtained from the WoSCC, and analyzed by HistCite, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix. The impact of publications was assessed by TGCS. We analyzed 1,496 articles published in 409 journals and authored by 46,533 researchers across 72 countries and regions. The most prolific countries were China, the USA, and Brazil, and the most cited countries were the USA, followed with China and the UK, while the most prolific and cited institution was University Toronto (records=34, TGCS=2,137). Brain Behavior and Immunity is the leading journal that regularly published research in this field (records=93, TGCS=6,247). NLRP3 inflammasome, microglia, TNF-α, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were the basis of neuroinflammation in depression. C-reactive protein, an important marker of inflammation, has been discussed for the longest time in this disease. In recent five years, two most frontier potential areas in studying depression were gut microbiota dysbiosis and BDNF. There remains a strong research basis for neuroinflammation in depression from this bibliometric analysis. Microglial activation, gut microbiota, cytokine signaling, and oxidative stress were research hotspots in recent years. In the future, chronic stress, hippocampal structure, and gut microbiota will continue to be studied in the field of neuroinflammation in depression. This study may benefit scientists in identifying potential directions for future study and providing clinicians with new ideas for treatment.
神经炎症在抑郁症的病理生理学中具有显著影响，近几十年来已经开展了大量研究。文献计量分析对于了解某一学科领域的热点和研究趋势具有重要意义。然而，迄今为止，该领域尚无系统的文献计量研究。本研究旨在聚焦抑郁症神经炎症的趋势和热点，为未来的研究人员提供指导和见解。从科学引文索引扩展版（WoSCC）获取了2004年至2023年的出版物，并通过HistCite、VOSviewer、CiteSpace和Bibliometrix进行分析。通过总被引频次（TGCS）评估出版物的影响力。我们分析了发表在409种期刊上、由来自72个国家和地区的46,533名研究人员撰写的1496篇文章。发文量最多的国家是中国、美国和巴西，被引频次最高的国家是美国，其次是中国和英国，而发文量和被引频次最高的机构是多伦多大学（记录数 = 34，TGCS = 2137）。《脑行为与免疫》是该领域定期发表研究的领先期刊（记录数 = 93，TGCS = 6247）。NLRP3炎性小体、小胶质细胞、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）是抑郁症神经炎症的基础。炎症的重要标志物C反应蛋白在该疾病中的讨论时间最长。在最近五年中，研究抑郁症的两个最前沿潜在领域是肠道微生物群失调和BDNF。通过这项文献计量分析，抑郁症神经炎症仍有坚实的研究基础。小胶质细胞激活、肠道微生物群、细胞因子信号传导和氧化应激是近年来的研究热点。未来，慢性应激、海马结构和肠道微生物群将继续在抑郁症神经炎症领域得到研究。本研究可能有助于科学家确定未来研究的潜在方向，并为临床医生提供新的治疗思路。
