Osteoporosis, a skeletal disease
characterized by loss of bone strength, is of worldwide prevalence, as
reflected in the international nature of the top 25 papers in the
topic over the past decade. Several prominent themes are evident in
this cadre of papers; namely, methods for measuring bone mineral
density (BMD) and predicting the likelihood of fractures; clinical
trials of preventative and interventional medications; and studies
into the mechanisms of the disease. Methods for measuring BMD to
predict fractures include photon absorptiometry and the examination of
allelic variants in vitamin D receptor genes. The selective estrogen
receptor modulator raloxifene was shown in three clinical trial papers
to increase BMD and decrease serum total and low-density lipoprotein
levels in postmenopausal women. Alendronate, an aminobisphosphonate,
was shown in multiple trials to increase bone mass and reduce the risk
of fractures in postmenopausal women. Dietary supplementation with
calcium and vitamin D3 was shown to reduce the risk of hip fractures
in elderly women. Another study showed that the anti-estrogen
tamoxifen increases BMD in the lumbar spine in women receiving the
drug for treatment of breast cancer. The roles of collagens, 17-beta
estradiol, bone marrow, cytokines, and osteoclast development in
osteoporosis are also discussed. Rounding out the top 25 papers is a
case report of estrogen receptor disruption in a 28-year-old man.
Methodology
To construct this database,
papers were extracted based on title- and author-supplied keywords for
Osteoporosis. The keywords used were as follows: osteoporosis.
The baseline time span for this
database is 1992 - 2002. The resulting database contained 17,185
papers; 34,536 authors; 97 countries; 1,629 journals; and 7,104
institutions.
Rankings
Once the database was in place,
it was used to generate the lists of top 25 papers, authors, journals,
institutions, and nations, covering a time span of 1992 - 2002.
The top 25 papers are ranked
according to total cites. 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 used to determine
scientist, institution, country, and journal rankings according to
total cites/paper were as follows: 33, 27, 25, and 27, respectively.
