Abstract

CRUZ RAMIREZ, Miguel; RODRIGUEZ-LABRADA, Roberto  and  VELAZQUEZ-PEREZ, Luis Clodovaldo. Scientific Research in The Field of Spinocerebellar Ataxias: A Bibliometric View. Rev. cuba. inf. cienc. salud [online]. 2024, vol.35  Epub May 01, 2024. ISSN 2307-2113.

The objective of the present study was to characterize the scientific production related to the field of spinocerebellar ataxias, which constitute neurodegenerative diseases, manifested by progressive and disabling clinical conditions. The research is census-documentary type and recovers metadata from Scopus, corresponding to 5,654 investigations related to this health problem, during the period 1961-2020. The processing explores the main bibliometric characteristics of the published documents, the pace of growth, the authorship of the works, the impact by citation index, as well as the collaboration networks and the structure that follows the flow of knowledge. A notable takeoff in scientific production has been observed since the beginning of the 90s of the last century, coinciding with the development of related research in the field of genetics. There is also a predominance in the study of the types SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, and SCA17, where the first four correspond to the most prevalent ataxias worldwide. The documentary corpus reflects the consolidation of relatively stable research groups, headed by scientific leaders and characterized by the sustained expansion of international collaboration and collective and interdisciplinary work. There is also a trend towards increasing the number of references within each document. The largest productive volumes are concentrated in developed countries, along with developing countries where there are high levels of prevalence of this disease.

Keywords : bibliometric analysis; ataxia; SCA; Scopus; scientific production; neurodegenerative diseases.