Researchers led at the Institute for Research in Ophthalmology, Poznan, Poland, have compiled bibliographic data from the 100 most-cited papers on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reported in the BMJ Open Ophthalmology (doi:10.1136/bmjophth-2021-000823). According to the authors of the compiled 100 most-cited papers in AMD, the research work reflected “the growing understanding of the role of genetics in the pathogenesis of the disease”. The papers were ranked in order of number of citations since publication. Five of the top 10 papers reported randomised clinical trial (RCT) results and centred on either anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents or nutritional supplements. In addition, 4 of the top 10 papers reported genotype-phenotype associations between AMD and variants in Complement Factor H.
The bibliographic databases used the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge, based on research articles published between 1965 and 2020 in professional peer-reviewed journals. According to the authors, over the past 30 years, the primary diagnostic modality for AMD has evolved from fluorescein angiography to optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography, while the primary therapeutic approach for neovascular AMD patients has ranged from no therapy, to thermal photocoagulation, to photodynamic therapy (PDT) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents, such as pegaptanib, bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept. The search found 7,755 articles and these ranged in journals focused on ophthalmology (68.7%), genetics, pharmacology, general medicine and biology. The most common countries of origin were the USA (35.5%), Germany (8.3%), United Kingdom (8.1%), Australia (6.1%), France (4.9%), China (4.7%) and Japan (4.5%).
The researchers showed that the mean number of total citations was 754±585, with a median of 543 citations and a range of 343 to 3,919. Sixty-one of the 100 most-cited papers on AMD were published in ophthalmology journals, and 39 were published in journals from other fields of research.
A summary table of the top 10 cited papers were:
