Immunotherapy is the concept of leveraging the immune system to treat diseases. Developing countries, including the Arab countries, have continued to lag in terms of biomedical research compared to other nations for several decades. Immunotherapy has been used in several fields, including cancer, transplantation, and vaccination. This article examined the activity and trend of immunotherapy research in the Arab world between 2000 and 2024.

The number of immunotherapy-related articles published by each Arab country, was assessed using the PubMed database between 2000 and 2024. Numbers were normalized with respect to each country's average population and average Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Arab countries contributed to 1.73 % of total immunotherapy papers. The number of immunotherapy publications has grown from 2000 to 2022, then decreased in the past 2 years. In terms of publications per million persons, Qatar ranked first (130.08 per million persons), while in terms of publications per national GDP, Lebanon ranked first (11.09 per billion US dollars). MeSH keywords VOSviewer showed a focus on vaccination, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, and transplantation conditioning in the Arab world.

This bibliometric analysis provides insight into the actualities and trends of immunotherapy research in the Arab world. This offers a general background for scientists, clinicians, funders, and decision-makers. Addressing the barriers that face immunotherapy research remains a cornerstone in the plan to improve the Arab world's output and contribution to this field.

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is a major global contributor to death and disability. As part of its medical management, researchers have recognized the importance of promising neuroprotective strategies, where stem cell transplantation (SCT) is thought to confer advantages via trophic and neuroprotective effects.

To evaluate the current state of research on SCT in patients with CVA, assess key trends and highlight literature gaps.

PubMed was screened for SCT in CVA-related articles in October 2023, for each country during the period between 2000 and 2023. Using the World Bank data, total population and gross domestic product were collected for comparison. VOSviewer_1.6.19 was used to create the VOS figure using the results of the same query. Graphs and tables were obtained using Microsoft Office Excel.

A total of 6923 studies were identified on SCT in CVA, making 0.03% of all published studies worldwide. Approximately, 68% were conducted in high-income countries, with a significant focus on mesenchymal stem cells. The journal "Stroke" featured the largest share of these articles, with mesenchymal SCT having the highest rate of inclusion, followed by hematopoietic SCT. Over time, there has been a noticeable shift from in vitro studies, which assess stem cell proliferation and neurogenesis, to in vivo studies aimed at evaluating efficacy and safety. Additionally, the number of reviews increased along this approach.

This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive guide for physicians and researchers in the field through an objective overview of research activity, and highlights both current trends and gaps. Having a potential therapeutic role in CVA, more research is needed in the future to focus on different aspects of SCT, aiming to reach a better treatment strategy and improve life quality in patients.

to provide objective quantitative data about medical-related scientific production in Hispanic Latin America compared to different regions and identify demographic and political variables that could improve research.

This is an analytical, observational, cross-section bibliometric study about all fields of medical-related scientific production over five years in different regions and its relationship with demographic and political variables that could impact research and the health system quality.

Data on the total scientific production of all Hispanic Latin American countries and other countries representing almost 90% of mundial publications between 2017 and 2021 were retrieved from the PubMed database. Demographic and political data were obtained from open online databases. Counts of publications were rationed to population and analyzed with all other demographic, region, and language variables, using univariate Poisson regression and negative binomial regression (for over-disperse variables) analysis. Multivariate negative binomial regression was used to analyze the combined effect of variables related to the healthcare and research Sectors.

Hispanic Latin America increased yearly from 29,445 publications in 2017 to 47,053 in 2021. This cumulative growth of almost 60% exceeded the 36% increment in all countries' publications and was only below that of Russia and China, which grew 92% and 87%, respectively. Negative binomial regression showed that the percentage of gross income dedicated to research (IRR 2.036, 95% CI: 1.624, 2.553, p< .001), life expectancy at birth (IRR 1.444, 95% CI: 1.338, 1.558, p< .001), and the number of medical doctors per inhabitant (IRR 1.581, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.13, p = .003) positively impacted scientific production. A higher mortality associated with chronic diseases between ages 30 and 70 (IRR 0.782, 95% CI: 0.743 0.822, p< .001) and a lower population with access to medicine (IRR 0.960, 95% CI: 0.933, 0.967, p< .001) were found to impact scientific production negatively. Hispanic Latin American countries published less than 20% of those with English as their native language (p< .001).

Hispanic Latin America has increased the gross number of publications by almost 60 % from 2017 to 2021. However, the number of publications per 100,000 inhabitants is still low compared to other countries. Our analysis highlights that this may be related to lower GDP, research investment, and less healthcare system quality.

Organ transplant is a crucial therapeutic strategy offering a life-saving and transformative medical intervention. It provides an opportunity to improve their quality of life and increase their lifespan. The shortage of organs remains a critical global challenge, leading to a prolonged waiting times for organ receivers, which contributes to an increase in morbidity and mortality rates. Hence, xenotransplantation offered a promising solution to the global shortage of organs through the use of animal organs, leading to an increase in donor availability, reducing waiting times, minimizing organ trafficking, improving genetic engineering advancements, and driving scientific innovation. Even though xenotransplantation has many benefits in the clinical setting, it has many barriers that are hindering its achievements and constraining its occurrence. Some barriers to xenotransplant are general, such as the immunological barrier, while others are specific to certain regions due to local causes. The Arab region exhibits disparities in clinical settings compared to the global context, marked by the huge economic crisis and a shortage of trained healthcare professionals. Considering the huge resources and advancements needed in the field of xenotransplantation, this review aims to explore the specific barriers toward xenotransplantation in the Arab countries, highlighting the challenges to overcome these barriers.

Alveolar ridge defects develop because of surgery, trauma, infection, or congenital malformations. Alveolar ridge defects can be resolved using an osseous replacement. The primary outcomes of osseous replacement are the maintenance of contour; the elimination of dead space, the reduction of postoperative infection; and the increase in bony and soft tissue healing. Recent research shows promising developments in dental bone grafts. This review presents the results of several clinical trials and provides updates on current alveolar bone grafting.

In May 2023, we searched Clinicaltrials.gov for interventional clinical trials related to alveolar bone grafting. A total of 66 clinical trials were included using Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT we used the "advanced search" option with the search terms [Alveolar Bone Grafting] OR [Ridge Preservation] OR [Dental Bone Grafting] OR [Ridge Augmentation]. Reviewed publications are summarized.

28 out of the 66 trials were successfully completed. None of the trials had offered an invitation to enroll, and only one was terminated. Autograft was the most prevalent kind of grafting, at 28 out of 66, more than twice as prevalent as allograft, which ranked second at 12 out of 66.

this study shows a lack of variety in location, low results provided, and low clinical trials regarding bone rejection. The focus of published trials was mainly on cleft palate rehabilitation using secondary alveolar bone grafting, and the usage of L-prf, rh-FGF-2, rhBMP2, and hyaluronic acid in association with alveolar bone grafting showed remarkable results concerning bone's osteoconduction, osteoinduction, and osteogenesis.

Robotic transplant surgery has garnered worldwide attention since 2002. Discussions on this issue have led to more publications over the past decade. This study assessed global robotic organ transplantation studies using bibliometric analysis.

The study sample was robotic technique use in organ transplantation publications from 2002 to 2021 in the Web of Science database. We analysed top-cited authors, countries, institutions, journals, and keywords. Citations were used to visualise and analyse target literature in VOSviewer.

160 articles were included in the bibliometric study. Among the nations that are presently involved in the use of robotics in organ transplantation research, the United States of America leads robotic organ transplantation studies. The American Journal of Transplantation published the most articles overall.

Based on publication and citation numbers, robotic organ transplantation techniques are becoming more global attention. This robotic abdominal organ transplant surgery bibliometric analysis review covers research output and hotspots.

Xenotransplantation is a worth investing branch of science, since it aims to fulfil the demand on human cells, tissues and organs. Despite decades of consistent work in preclinical assessments, clinical trials on xenotransplantation are far from reaching the targeted goal. Our study aims to track the characteristics, assess the content and summarize the plan of each trial on skin, beta-island, bone marrow, aortic valve and kidney xenografts, leading to a clear sorting of efforts made in this field.

In December 2022, we searched clinicaltrial.gov for interventional clinical trials related to xenograft of skin, pancreas, bone marrow, aortic valve and kidney. A total of 14 clinical trials are included in this study. Characteristics on each trial were gathered. Linked publications were searched using Medline/PubMed and Embase/Scopus. Content of trials was reviewed and summarized.

Only 14 clinical trials met our study's criteria. The majority were completed, and most of the trials' enrolment was between 11 and 50 participants. Nine trials used a xenograft of porcine origin. Six trials targeted skin xenotransplantation, four targeted β-cells, two targeted bone marrow and one trial targeted each of the kidney and aortic valve. The average length of trials was 3.38 years. Four trials were conducted in the United States and two trials in each of Brazil, Argentina and Sweden. Of all the included trials, none had any results provided and only three had published work. Phases I, III, and IV had only one trial each. A total of 501 participants were enrolled in these trials.

This study sheds the light on the current state of clinical trials on xenograft. Characteristically, trials on this field are of low number, low enrolment, short duration, few related publications and no published results. Porcine organs are the most used in these trials, and skin is the most studied organ. An extension of the literature is highly needed due to the variety of conflicts mentioned. Overall, this study sheds the light on the necessity of managing research efforts, leading to the initiation of more trials targeting the field of xenotransplantation.

Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which spreads by direct contact mainly, thus having the propensity to cause future epidemics. The current review aimed to provide an up-to-date literature analysis for evaluating scientific data on monkeypox. A bibliometric analysis was conducted through eight electronic databases. The search period was from May 2022 to December 2023. All the articles were exported to Mendeley (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands). The literature search resulted in 415 relevant research articles. The growth of publications gradually rose, initiated in January 2022, leading to a rapid upsurge in May 2022. A total of 409 documents reported the number of citations, with two articles documenting the highest number, ranging from 146-150 and 216-220. The European region (EURO) dominated in publishing research articles on monkeypox, with the United States having the highest number of reports (n = 41; 9.87%), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 35; 8.43%) and Italy (n = 15; 3.61%). There were 82 funding agencies that funded 44 research articles, whereas 371 were not funded by any funding agency. Our analysis has presented the outline of the research articles published on monkeypox virus-related literature during the current outbreak. Research articles should be financially and administratively supported. Future research is required to expand research on the monkeypox virus, as there is a growing demand for original articles.

The Arab region comprises 22 countries located in the Middle East and North Africa, sharing cultural and linguistic ties. Arab countries have continued to lag in terms of biomedical research compared to other nations for several past decades. Cancer is a major public health concern, being the second leading cause of death globally. Given that high research activity on cancer reflects positively on screening programs, awareness, and clinical practice, this article aimed to examine the activity and trend of cancer research in the Arab world between 2005 and 2019.

Between 2005 and 2019, the number of cancer-related articles published by each Arab country, and regarding 27 different types, was assessed using the PubMed database. Numbers were normalized with respect to each country's average population and average Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Arab countries contributed to 1.52% of total cancer publications. The number of cancer publications has steadily grown since 2005, with the last 7 years alone witnessing 75.69% of the total Arab cancer-related publications. In terms of publications per million persons, Qatar ranked first (393.74 per million persons), while in terms of publications per national GDP, Egypt ranked first (464.27 per billion US dollars). Breast, liver, and colorectal cancers had the highest numbers of all Arab cancer-related publications, while testicular, vulvar, and gallbladder cancers had the least.

This paper pools information and insight for scientists, clinicians, funders, and decision-makers on the actualities and developments of cancer research in the Arab world. Addressing the barriers facing cancer research remains a cornerstone in the plan to improve the Arab world's output and contribution to the field of oncology.

Over the last several decades, the field of lung transplantation has made significant advances. Despite these advancements, morbidity and mortality rates are still high when compared to other solid organ transplants. Clinical trials have a significant role bringing new medications with better effects than their predecessors. Our study is critical in evaluating and tracking clinical trials involving rejection of lung transplant, with a focus on interventional therapeutic trials.

On November 3, 2021, we searched clinicaltrial.gov for interventional clinical trials related to lung transplant rejection. A total of 39 clinical trials are included in this study. Characteristics on each trial were gathered. Linked publications were searched using Medline/PubMed and Embase/Scopus, and their content reviewed and summarized.

The majority of trials were divided into completed (15 out of 39) and recruiting (12 out of 39). 17 trials had between 11 and 50 participants, and 8 had above 100. Only 1 trial lasted >10 years, and the average length of all trials was 3.6 years. The majority of trials were conducted in Europe/UK/Russia and the United States/Canada (17 and 18 trials, respectively). The results were provided in 3 trials, and also published in 3, showing a decrease in the rate of patients reaching an endpoint after chronic rejection with liposomal aerosol cyclosporine, a decrease in their cytokines level, and an increase in their 5-year-survival rate compared to the oral conventional immunosuppressant, the benefit of sirolimus in decreasing the acute rejection rate and severity in comparison to azathioprine, and its efficacy against cytomegalovirus infections. Other trials revealed the benefits of azithromycin in remarkably decreasing airways and systemic inflammation, with a concomitant decline in the risk of both BOS and CLAD; highlighting the deleterious effects of air pollution after transplantation surgery; and using the grading biopsy as a post-transplantation assessment tool.

This study is a descriptive analysis of clinical trials targeting lung transplant rejection. This study shows the low number of trials, lack of variety in location and low publishing rates. Although focus of published trials was mainly towards azithromycin, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, air pollution, and biopsy in grading, a remarkable progress was realized concerning therapies, leading to less complications with a delay of chronic rejection onset, and an increase in overall survival. This sheds the light on the need for managing research efforts to fulfill any lack in specific domain, leading to new, effective therapies, and providing thereby much more benefit.

Liver transplant (LT) is the second most common transplant intervention. The rate of acute cellular rejection (ACR) is 15-25% after LT, while being higher in chronic rejection (CR). Clinical trials had a major role in getting more potent and selective immunosuppressive medications. Our study plays an important role by evaluating and tracking clinical trials related to liver transplant rejection, focusing on interventional therapeutic trials.

On October 28, we searched Clinicaltrials.gov for interventional clinical trials related to liver transplant rejection. A total of 27 clinical trials included in this study. Characteristics on each trial were collected, and availability of linked publications was searched using Medline/PubMed and Embase/Scopus. Content of publications was reviewed and main findings were summarized.

Majority of trials were completed (15 out of 27). Eleven trials had between 11 and 50 participants, and 10 had above 100. The study duration was between 1 and 4 years for the majority of trials (16 trials), with an average of 3.77 years. Most of the trials were done in Europe/UK/Russia (n = 12). The results were provided in 9 trials but published in 4, showing the possible tolerogenic efficacy of MSC in liver transplantation, increased success of immunosuppression (IS) withdrawal after sirolimus addition, efficacy of Alemtuzumab, normal graft function and stability within 1 year of immunosuppression withdrawal.

This study revealed a low number of trials, lack of variety in location and low publishing rates. The focus of trials was mainly towards side effects and safety of immunosuppressants, and their withdrawal. These trials reached results that must be built on to reach definitive guidelines and treatment strategies. This highlights the need for better management of human and financial resources, in order to reach new and more effective therapeutic strategies, leading to the decrease in rate of LTR.

Background  Little is known about self-mutilation and suicide-related research in the Arab world. Aim We aim to quantify research activity related to suicide and self-mutilation, according to socio-economic factors, and assess inter-regional collaborations and trends of topics in the Arab world in the last 16 years. Methods A search was conducted through the PubMed database to find articles related to suicide and self-mutilation, according to author affiliation in the 22 Arab countries between 2004 and 2019 (inclusive), and standardized according to mean population, suicide, and self-mutilation disability associated life years (DALY), and gross domestic product (GDP). VOS Viewer was used for keyword and organization co-occurrence analysis. Results Only 0.61% of articles related to suicide and self-mutilation published between 2004 and 2019 were of Arab origin, compared to 1.76% in South America and 7.94% in Far East Asia. Suicide and self-mutilation articles make up 0.09% of the total publications in the Arab region. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon had the highest number of published articles related to suicide and self-mutilation. When comparing publications per million persons, Lebanon and Kuwait ranked first with 5.15 and 3.40 publications per million persons. Lebanon showed the highest number of publications per USD billion GDP, with 0.75 publications. The highest number of publications per 1% self-injury-related DALY was recorded in Saudi Arabia, with 46.97 publications. In recent years, VOS Viewer revealed poor inter-regional collaborations and a modest but increasing trend towards depression, poisoning, and cross-sectional studies. Conclusion Despite increasing publications, the region still lags in terms of suicide and self-mutilation research activity. A pan-Arab strategy should be implemented to refine suicide-related research and increase mental health awareness.

Behçet's disease (BD), a rare multisystemic disorder, has an unknown etiology. Interactions between genetic and environmental factors play a major role in this disorder. Human leukocyte antigen B51 allele is the strongest risk factor for the development of Behçet disease. The high prevalence of BD in the Arab world makes it necessary to undergo local research and publications, to target particular genetic, geographical, or even cultural risk factors. This study aims to assess the numerical contribution of the Arab world to research on Behçet disease. Using the PubMed platform, the number of BD-related publications from 2005 to 2019 was assessed for all 22 Arab countries, and countries having the highest prevalence of the disease. Number of publications on BD was normalized to the average population size and GDP for each Arab country. From 2005 to 2019, Arab countries published 198 articles related to BD. This accounts for 0.1% of the total number of BD-related articles published in this period (4170). A significant, positive correlation of moderate strength exists between the number of publications and the average population, while a non-significant, positive correlation of week strength exists between the number of publications and GDP. Concerning the top 15 countries according to Behçet disease prevalence, Turkey had the greatest number of articles, while the USA had the highest ratio of publications per prevalence. The high prevalence of BD in Arabic countries was faced by paradoxically low research activity in this field. Arab countries are lagging behind in the field of Behçet disease-related research, which highlights the need for improving research productivity.

The Arab world is lagging behind in the world of publications and research, especially in the biomedical-related field. This is a bibliometric analysis that aims to assess the neurosurgical research productivity across different Arab countries.

PubMed was used to quantify the number of neurosurgery-related articles published by each Arab country, by several journals, investigating specific topics between 2005 and 2019. Numbers were normalized with respect to each country's average population and average gross domestic product (GDP).

Arab countries contributed 0.53% of total neurosurgery publications. Egypt had the highest number of neurosurgery-related publications (362), ahead of Saudi Arabia (238) and Lebanon (133). In terms of publications per million persons, Lebanon was first with 21.6 publications per million persons. In terms of GDP, Egypt ranked first with 18.85 publications per million $. There was an insignificant correlation between the number of publications on one hand and the average GDP (P = 0.09) on the other hand, whereas the average population explains around 50% of the neurosurgery-related publications (R squared = 0.49, P < 0.01). Neoplasms were the dominating area of research, and the WORLD NEUROSURGERY journal had the highest number of publications.

The results reached by this study reflect an undoubtable need for more research on neurosurgery by Arab countries. This goes back to the different obstacles facing Arab countries every day, affecting the economic, educational, and health care systems.