Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis of Stem Cell Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Purpose

As a common male disease, erectile dysfunction (ED) seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients. In recent years, studies have continued to point out the great potential of stem cell therapy (SCT) in the treatment of ED. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyze the research of SCT for ED and understand the development trends and research frontiers in this field.

Methods

Publications regarding SCT and ED were retrieved and collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were then utilized for bibliometric and visualization analysis.

Results

A total of 524 publications were eventually included in this study. The annual number of publications in this field was increasing year by year. China and the USA were the two most productive countries. Lin GT, Lue TF and Lin CS, and the University of California San Francisco where they worked were the most productive research group and institution, respectively. The journal with the largest number of publications was The Journal of Sexual Medicine, and the following were mostly professional journals of urology and andrology. Diabetes mellitus-induced ED and cavernous nerve injury-related ED were the two most commonly constructed models of ED in studies. Concerning the types of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose and bone marrow were most frequently used. Moreover, future research would mainly focus on exosomes, tissue engineering technology, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and clinical translation.

Conclusion

The research of SCT for ED will receive increasing global attention in the future. Our study provided bibliometric and visualization analysis of published literature, helping researchers understand the global landscape and frontiers in this field. More preclinical and clinical studies should be conducted to more deeply explore the underlying mechanisms of treatment and promote clinical translation.

Keywords:

• erectile dysfunction
• stem cells
• bibliometric analysis
• visualization
• VOSviewer
• citespace

Abbreviations

ED, erectile dysfunction; SCT, stem cell therapy; DM, diabetes mellitus; PDE5i, phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor; DMED, diabetes mellitus-induced ED; CNI-ED, cavernous nerve injury-related ED; WoSCC, the Web of Science Core Collection; ACI, the average citations per item; ADSCs, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells; ECs, endothelial cells; SMCs, smooth muscle cells; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; NO, nitric oxide.

Data Sharing Statement

All data analyzed were included in this paper; further requests can be consulted and data can be obtained from the correspondent author.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all authors who participated in the study of SCT and ED, and Home for Researchers editorial team (http://www.home-for-researchers.com) for language editing service.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82201775) and the Joint Construction Project between Medical Science and Technology Research Project of Henan Province (No. LHGJ20220343).