Mapping worldwide productivity on the field of preclinical studies focused on Angiotensin-(1-7) actions on metabolic syndrome risk factors

Abstract

Emerging evidence from primary studies has postulated that Angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) might be a potential pharmacological strategy to treat cardiovascular and metabolic injuries, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS). In this view, secondary studies play a crucial role, since it provides prospective views of primary data. The present study aimed to map worldwide productivity of preclinical studies related to Ang-(1-7) actions on MetS. Therefore, a search protocol was designed; a comprehensive search on scientific databases was performed, and the bibliometric data was collected from the eligible articles. A total of2100 articles were initially retrieved, and after screenings, 62 eligible articles were detected, involving 19 countries. The first 2 studies on the field dated in 2003, and the third appeared only in 2009. Peak of publications occurred from 2013 to 2015, with 8 publications per year. The United States was the country with more publications, (n = 21). Differently, Bader, M. (Germany) was the author with more publications, and the most cited author was Dominici, F.P. (Argentina), who was also co-author of the most cited article, published by Giani, JF and colleagues (2009), with 135 citations. Index keywords analysis revealed that mice and rats were the most used animal models, and that the trends in the research differ between those approaches. The first aggregates keywords related to atherosclerosis, vascular functions, and knockout mice; while the second focused on insulin resistance, diets and obesity. Considering that MetS is a global epidemic, the data herein indicates the literature might have few preclinical studies focused on the physiological actions of Ang-(1-7) on MetS risk factors, and the number of publications in the field has also been decreasing in the last years. However, strong international collaborations and publications in highimpact Journals were detected.