The baseline time span for this database is (publication years)
1998-2008 from the third bimonthly update (a 10-year + 6-month period). The
resulting database contained 33,844 (10 years) and 10,173 (2 years) papers;
82,701 authors; 120 nations; 2,515 journals; and 15,590 institutions. See
additional paper information below in the overview & methodology
sections.
Interviews, first-person essays, and profiles about
people in a wide variety of fields which pertain to
this special topic of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
OVERVIEW
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease causing inflammation
in the lining of the joints and leading to long-term joint damage.
According to the Arthritis Foundation and the NIH, 1.3 million Americans
have rheumatoid arthritis, while in the UK, more than 350,000 people are
affected. This month, Special Topics revisits an analysis we did two years
ago by looking at the research trends in rheumatoid arthritis over the past
decade and over the past two years.
Our analysis was based on a topic (title, abstract, and keywords) search
for "rheumatoid arth*." To generate a more on-point list of the top 20
papers over the past decade and over the past two years, we further
restricted these papers to the contain the keyword solely in the title.
Drug treatment trials dominate the 10-year list. Treatments investigated
include rofecoxib, celecoxib, inflimixab alone or with methotrexate,
entanercept alone or with methotrexate, anti-TNF antibodies, rituximab,
adalimumab, leflunomide, sulphasalazine, and interleukin-1 receptor
antagonists. The long-term gastrointestinal toxicity of rofecoxib and
celecoxib are examined, as are the role of cytokine pathways in the
mechanisms of joint inflammation and the diagnostic value of rheumatoid
arthritis autoantibodies. Compared with our 2006 analysis, etanercept
appears to be taking on a larger therapeutic role; in addition, studies
into the mechanisms of disease are increasing.
Drug therapy also dominates the two-year list. Named trials include the
PREMIER, TEMPO, and ASPIRE studies, as well as the British Society for
Rheumatology Biologics Register. Drug treatments include anti-TNF
antibodies, adalimumab, rituximab, abatacept, B-cell targeting,
tocilizumab, etanercept, and glucocorticoids. Like the 10-year list, there
are more papers speculating on the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis
compared with the 2006 analysis, as well as more papers examining the
diagnostic value of specific autoantibodies. Other concerns, such as the
reconstitution of peripheral blood B cells after certain types of therapy
and predictors of joint damage, are also addressed.
Methodology:
The baseline time span for this database is (publication years)
1998-2008 from the third bimonthly update (a 10-year + 6-month period).
The resulting database contained 33,844 (10 years) and 10,173 (2 years)
papers; 82,701 authors; 120 nations; 2,515 journals; and 15,590
institutions.
Papers: To construct the top 20 papers lists for the past
decade and the past two years, the papers were further narrowed down by the
title keywords "rheumatoid arthritis." This adjustment resulted in the top
20 papers being selected from a pool of 8,898 (10 years) and 2,504 (2
years) papers.
Rankings: Once the database was in place, it was used to
generate list of authors, journals, institutions, and nations. Rankings for
author, journal, institution, and country are listed in three ways:
according to total cites, total papers, and total cites/paper. The paper
thresholds and corresponding percentages used to determine scientist,
institution, country, and journal rankings according to total cites/paper,
and total papers respectively are as follows: