Four Decades of Research in Alzheimer's Disease (1975-2014): A Bibliometric and Scientometric Analysis

Alberto Serrano-Pozo; Georgina M Aldridge; Qiang Zhang

doi:10.3233/JAD-170184

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Four Decades of Research in Alzheimer's Disease (1975-2014): A Bibliometric and Scientometric Analysis

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Four Decades of Research in Alzheimer's Disease (1975-2014): A Bibliometric and Scientometric Analysis

Alberto Serrano-Pozo, Georgina M Aldridge and Qiang Zhang

Journal of Alzheimer's disease, Vol.59(2), pp.763-783

2017

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170184

PMCID: PMC6002842

PMID: 28671119

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/6002842View

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Abstract

Bibliometric and scientometric methods can be applied to the study of a research field. We hypothesized that a bibliometric and scientometric analysis of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) research field could render trends that provide researchers and funding agencies valuable insight into the history of the field, current tendencies, and potential future directions. We performed searches in publicly available databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Alzheimer's Funding Analyzer for the period 1975-2014, and conducted a curve fitting analysis with non-linear regression. While the rate and impact of publications continue to increase, the number of patents per year is currently declining after peaking in the late 2000s, and the funding budget has plateaued in the last 5-10 years analyzed. Genetics is the area growing at a fastest pace, whereas pathophysiology and therapy have not grown further in the last decade. Among the targets of pathophysiology research, amyloid-β continues to be the focus of greatest interest, with tau and apolipoprotein E stagnant after a surge in the 1990s. The role of inflammation, microglia, and the synapse are other research topics with growing interest. Regarding preventative strategies, education attainment, diet, and exercise are recently gaining some momentum, whereas NSAIDs and statins have lost the spotlight they once had. Our bibliometric and scientometric analysis provides distinct trends in AD research in the last four decades, including publication and patent output, funding, impact, and topics. Our findings could inform the decision-making of research funding agencies in the near future.

Age Factors

Humans

Middle Aged

Alzheimer Disease - therapy

Male

Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis

Young Adult

PubMed - statistics & numerical data

Bibliometrics

Adolescent

Aged, 80 and over

Adult

Biomedical Research - methods

Female

Aged

Longitudinal Studies

Details

Title: Subtitle: Four Decades of Research in Alzheimer's Disease (1975-2014): A Bibliometric and Scientometric Analysis
Creators: Alberto Serrano-Pozo - Department of Neurology, University of IowaHospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
Georgina M Aldridge - Department of Neurology, University of IowaHospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
Qiang Zhang - Department of Neurology, University of IowaHospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of Alzheimer's disease, Vol.59(2), pp.763-783
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170184
PMID: 28671119
PMCID: PMC6002842
NLM abbreviation: J Alzheimers Dis
ISSN: 1387-2877
eISSN: 1875-8908
Publisher: Netherlands
Grant note: R25 NS079173 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 2017
Academic Unit: Neurology; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984020622202771

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