Abstract
Dystonia is a heterogeneous disorder that, when refractory to medical treatment, may have a favorable response to deep brain stimulation (DBS). A practical way to have an overview of a research domain is through a bibliometric analysis, as it makes it more accessible for researchers and others outside the field to have an idea of its directions and needs. To analyze the 100 most cited articles in the use of DBS for dystonia treatment in the last 30 years. The research protocol was performed in June 2019 in Elsevier's Scopus database, by retrieving the most cited articles regarding DBS in dystonia. We analyzed authors, year of publication, country, affiliation, and targets of DBS. Articles are mainly published in Movement Disorders (19%), Journal of Neurosurgery (9%), and Neurology (9%). European countries offer significant contributions (57% of our sample). France (192.5 citations/paper) and Germany (144.1 citations/paper) have the highest citation rates of all countries. The United States contributes with 31% of the articles, with 129.8 citations/paper. The publications are focused on General outcomes (46%), followed by Long-term outcomes (12.5%), and Complications (11%), and the leading type of dystonia researched is idiopathic or inherited, isolated, segmental or generalized dystonia, with 27% of articles and 204.3 citations/paper. DBS in dystonia research is mainly published in a handful of scientific journals and focused on the outcomes of the surgery in idiopathic or inherited, isolated, segmental or generalized dystonia, and with globus pallidus internus as the main DBS target.
Highlights
Dystonia is a heterogeneous movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions leading to abnormal movements and postures[1]
Ablative procedures were largely performed in dystonia, before the advent of deep brain stimulation (DBS)
A practical way to identify which are the most influential authors, journals, and countries in a particular field is through a bibliometric analysis[6]
Summary
Dystonia is a heterogeneous movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions leading to abnormal movements and postures[1] It can be classified by its clinical characteristics, including body distribution ( focal, segmental, multifocal, generalized, or hemidystonia) and associated features (isolated or combined); and etiology (idiopathic, inherited or acquired)[1]. DBS should be considered in the inherited or idiopathic generalized dystonias that do not have reasonable symptomatic control with medication and in which disabilities impact patient’s QoL. DBS, usually targeting the globus pallidus internus (GPi), has a response in idiopathic or inherited isolated segmental or generalized dystonia that varies between 43–65%2. A practical way to identify which are the most influential authors, journals, and countries in a particular field is through a bibliometric analysis[6]. Articles were divided into primary or secondary (i.e., reviews and guidelines) articles
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