Tiny clue reveals the general trend: a bibliometric and visualized analysis of renal microcirculation.

BACKGROUND: Renal microcirculation plays a pivotal role in kidney function by maintaining structural and functional integrity, facilitating oxygen and nutrient delivery, and waste removal. However, a thorough bibliometric analysis in this area remains lacking. Therefore, we aim to provide valuable insights through a bibliometric analysis of renal microcirculation literature using the Web of Science database. METHODS: We collected renal microcirculation-related publications from the Web of Science database from January 01, 1990, to December 31, 2022. The co-authorship of authors, organizations, and countries/regions was analyzed with VOSviewer1.6.18. The co-occurrence of keywords and co-cited references were analyzed using CiteSpace6.1.R6 software to generate visualization maps. Additionally, burst detection was applied to keywords and cited references to forecast research hotspots and future trends. RESULTS: Our search yielded 7462 publications, with the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology contributing the most articles. The United States, Mayo Clinic, and Lerman Lilach O emerged with the highest publication count, indicating their active collaborations. 'Type 2 diabetes' was the most significant keyword cluster, and 'diabetic kidney disease' was the largest cluster of cited references. 'Cardiovascular outcome' and 'diabetic kidney diseases' were identified as keywords in their burst period over the past three years. CONCLUSION: Our bibliometric analysis illuminates the contours of nephrology and microcirculation research, revealing a landscape ripe for challenges and the seeds of future scientific innovation. While the trends discerned from the literature emerging opportunities in diagnostic innovation, renal microcirculation research, and precision medicine interventions, their translation to clinical practice is anticipated to be a deliberate process.

Ranolazine for improving coronary microvascular function in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis with a trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Microvascular dysfunction in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease is increasingly being recognized as an important health issue. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of ranolazine, an antianginal agent, in improving coronary microvascular function. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, and gray literature databases until September 30, 2023. The included studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the English or Chinese languages that screened for eligibility using two independent investigators. Risk of bias was evaluated with the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were used to identify sources of heterogeneity. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan version 5.4 (Cochrane) and Stata version 16.0 (StataCorp). Results: From 1,470 citations, 8 RCTs involving 379 participants were included in this analysis. Our findings showed that ranolazine increased coronary flow reserve (CFR) over an 8 to 12-week follow-up period [standardized mean difference =1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4-1.89; P=0.002]. Ranolazine increased the global myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI) [weighted mean difference (WMD) =0.18; 95% CI: 0.07-0.29; P=0.002] and the midsubendocardial MPRI (WMD =0.10; 95% CI: 0.02-0.19; P=0.02). Moreover, ranolazine improved 3 of the 5 Seattle Angina Questionnaire scores, namely, physical functioning (WMD =4.89; 95% CI: 0.14 to 9.64; P=0.04), angina stability (WMD =17.31; 95% CI: 7.13-27.49; P=0.0009), and quality of life (WMD =10.11; 95% CI: 3.57-16.65; P=0.0003). Trial sequential analysis showed that the meta-analysis of angina stability and quality of life scores had a sufficient sample size and statistical power. Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that ranolazine is associated with improvements in CFR, myocardial perfusion, and the Seattle Angina Questionnaire scores in patients with nonobstructive coronary artery disease. However, further large-scale RCTs with long-term follow-up are recommended to validate these findings and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of ranolazine on coronary microvascular function.

Harnessing the benefits of glycine supplementation for improved pancreatic microcirculation in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is predominantly managed using insulin replacement therapy, however, pancreatic microcirculatory disturbances play a critical role in T1DM pathogenesis, necessitating alternative therapies. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of glycine supplementation on pancreatic microcirculation in T1DM. Streptozotocin-induced T1DM and glycine-supplemented mice (n = 6 per group) were used alongside control mice. Pancreatic microcirculatory profiles were determined using a laser Doppler blood perfusion monitoring system and wavelet transform spectral analysis. The T1DM group exhibited disorganized pancreatic microcirculatory oscillation. Glycine supplementation significantly restored regular biorhythmic contraction and relaxation, improving blood distribution patterns. Further-more, glycine reversed the lower amplitudes of endothelial oscillators in T1DM mice. Ultrastructural deterioration of islet microvascular endothelial cells (IMECs) and islet microvascular pericytes, including membrane and organelle damage, collagenous fiber proliferation, and reduced edema, was substantially reversed by glycine supplementation. Additionally, glycine supplementation inhibited the production of IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, pro-MMP-9, and VEGF-A in T1DM, with no significant changes in energetic metabolism observed in glycine-supplemented IMECs. A statistically significant decrease in MDA levels accompanied by an increase in SOD levels was also observed with glycine supplementation. Notably, negative correlations emerged between inflammatory cytokines and microhemodynamic profiles. These findings suggest that glycine supplementation may offer a promising therapeutic approach for protecting against pancreatic microcirculatory dysfunction in T1DM.

Global trend and future landscape of coronary microcirculation: A bibliometric and visualized analysis from 1990 to 2021.

Background: Coronary microcirculation has a fundamental role in the regulation of coronary blood flow in response to cardiac requirements, which has aroused wide concerns in basic science and clinical cardiovascular research. We aimed to analyze coronary microcirculation-associated literatures over 30 years and provide insightful information on the evolutionary path, frontier research hotspots, and future developmental trends. Methods: Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). VOSviewer was used to perform co-occurrence analyses for countries, institutions, authors, and keywords and to generate visualized collaboration maps. CiteSpace was used to visualize the knowledge map derived from reference co-citation analysis, burst references, and keywords detection. Results: This analysis was performed based on 11,702 publications including 9981 articles and 1721 reviews. The United States and Harvard University ranked at the top among all the countries and institutions. The majority of articles were published in Circulation, and it also was the most co-cited journal. Thematic hotspots and frontiers were focused on coronary microvascular dysfunction, magnetic resonance imaging, fractional flow reserve, STEMI, and heart failure. Additionally, keywords burst and co-occurrence cluster analysis showed that management, microvascular dysfunction, microvascular obstruction, prognostic value, outcomes, and guidelines were current knowledge gaps and future directions. Conclusions: Coronary microcirculation presented a research hotspot relevant wide spectrum of cardiovascular diseases. Definite diagnostics and prognostics are particularly valued. The protection of cardiovascular events that influence clinical outcomes should be an insightful concern in the future. Multidisciplinary collaborations will provide significant advances for the development of coronary microcirculation.

Global trend and future landscape of intestinal microcirculation research from 2000 to 2021: A scientometric study.

BACKGROUND: The intestinal microcirculation functions in food absorption and metabolic substance exchanges. Accumulating evidence indicates that intestinal microcirculatory dysfunction is a significant source of multiple gastrointestinal diseases. To date, there has not been a scientometric analysis of intestinal microcirculatory research. AIM: To investigate the current status, development trends, and frontiers of intestinal microcirculatory research based on bibliometric analysis. METHODS: VOSviewer and CiteSpace 6.1.R2 were used to identify the overall characteristics and knowledge map of intestinal microcirculatory research based on the core literature published from 2000 to 2021 in the Web of Science database. The characteristics of each article, country of origin, institution, journal, cocitations, and other information were analyzed and visualized. RESULTS: There were 1364 publications enrolled in the bibliometric analysis, exhibiting an upward trend from 2000 to 2021 with increased participation worldwide. The United States and Dalhousie University took the lead among countries and institutions, respectively. Shock was the most prolific journal, and Nature Reviews Microbiology Clinical had the most citations. The topical hotspots and frontiers in intestinal microcirculatory research were centered on the pathological processes of functional impairment of intestinal microvessels, diverse intestinal illnesses, and clinical treatment. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights insights into trends of the published research on the intestinal microcirculation and offers serviceable guidance to researchers by summarizing the prolific areas in intestinal disease research to date.

Role of insulin in pancreatic microcirculatory oxygen profile and bioenergetics.

BACKGROUND: The pancreatic islet microcirculation adapts its metabolism to cope with limited oxygen availability and nutrient delivery. In diabetes, the balance between oxygen delivery and consumption is impaired. Insulin has been proven to exert complex actions promoting the maintenance of homeostasis of the pancreas under glucotoxicity. AIM: To test the hypothesis that insulin administration can improve the integrated pancreatic microcirculatory oxygen profile and bioenergetics. METHODS: The pancreatic microcirculatory partial oxygen pressure (PO2), relative hemoglobin (rHb) and hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) were evaluated in nondiabetic, type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and insulin-treated mice. A three-dimensional framework was generated to visualize the microcirculatory oxygen profile. Ultrastructural changes in the microvasculature were examined using transmission electron microscopy. An Extracellular Flux Analyzer was used to detect the real-time changes in bioenergetics by measuring the oxygen consumption rate and extracellular acidification rate in islet microvascular endothelial cells (IMECs). RESULTS: Significantly lower PO2, rHb, and SO2 values were observed in T1DM mice than in nondiabetic controls. Insulin administration ameliorated the streptozotocin-induced decreases in these microcirculatory oxygen parameters and improved the mitochondrial ultrastructural abnormalities in IMECs. Bioenergetic profiling revealed that the IMECs did not have spare respiratory capacity. Insulin-treated IMECs exhibited significantly greater basal respiration than glucotoxicity-exposed IMECs (P < 0.05). An energy map revealed increased energetic metabolism in insulin-treated IMECs, with significantly increased ATP production, non-mitochondrial respiration, and oxidative metabolism (all P < 0.05). Significant negative correlations were revealed between microcirculatory SO2 and bioenergetic parameters. CONCLUSION: Glucotoxicity deteriorates the integrated pancreatic microcirculatory oxygen profile and bioenergetics, but this deterioration can be reversed by insulin administration.