Knowledge domain and trend of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis: A study based on CiteSpace

To explore the current status and trends of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis through bibliometric and visual analyses of the related literature.

Relevant literature from the Web of Science Core Collection from 2017 to 2022 was retrieved, and a bibliometric analysis was performed using CiteSpace 6.1. R2. Thesoftware was used to generate visual graphs of the author, institution, country, keyword co-occurrence, and literature co-citation network.

A total of 1719 manuscripts were retrieved, including 1397 original studies and 322 reviews. In the past five years, Patti F and the University of London were the authors and institutions generating the largest number of publications, respectively, and there was active collaboration between authors and institutions. The United States was the largest contributor to the relevant literature, and the high-frequency keywords in the field of multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapies in the past five years mainly included multiple sclerosis, disease-modifying therapy, double-blind, disability, natalizumab, effectiveness, fingolimod, glatiramer acetate, and dimethyl fumarate.

Current research hotspots and trends in DMTs in multiple sclerosis focus on the effectiveness of different DMTs drugs in treating patients with MS and how to optimise treatment strategies. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the correlation between MS and COVID-19 infection and the method to manage and address the adverse effects of DMTs on multiple sclerosis patients is also future research trends.