A bibliometric and visualized analysis of extracellular vesicles in degenerative musculoskeletal diseases (from 2006 to 2024)

Background With the rapid development of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in regenerative medicine research, they have become a promising new direction in the mechanistic, diagnosis and treatment studies of degenerative musculoskeletal diseases (DMDs), and has attracted increasing attention. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive and objective summary analysis to help researchers quickly and conveniently understand the development trajectory and future trends of this field.Method This study collected articles and reviews published from 2006 to 2024 on EVs in DMDs from the Web of Science database. Bibliometric and visual analysis was conducted using several tools, including Microsoft Excel Office, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, Pajek, and R packages.Results 1,182 publications were included in the analysis from 2006 to 2024. Notably, there was a rapid increase in the number of publications starting in 2016, suggesting that this field remains in a developmental stage. Co-authorship analysis revealed that China ranked first in terms of publications, whereas the United States led in citations. The journal with the highest number of publications was International Journal of Molecular Sciences (INT J MOL SCI). The most prolific authors were Ragni, E with 23 publications, while the most cited author was Toh, WS. Additionally, nine of the top 10 institutions were from China, with Shanghai Jiao Tong University leading in the number of publications. The most cited article was "MSC exosomes mediate cartilage repair by enhancing proliferation, attenuating apoptosis and modulating immune reactivity", authored by Zhang, S, and published in BIOMATERIALS in 2018.Conclusion This study, through bibliometric and visual analysis, clearly illustrates the collaborative relationships among countries, authors, institutions, and journals, providing valuable insights for researchers seeking academic collaboration opportunities. Moreover, the analysis of keywords and citations allows researchers to better understand key research hotspots and frontiers in this field, and points toward promising directions for future research. The growing interest in EV research in DMDs over recent years indicates increasing attention and a dynamic progression in this field.