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Introduction: A bibliometric study was carried out to ascertain the volume and impact of scientific literature published on second-generation antipsychotic drugs (SGAs) in Singapore from 1997 to 2011., Methods: A search of the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases was performed to identify articles originating from Singapore that included the descriptors 'atypic* antipsychotic*', 'second-generation antipsychotic*', 'clozapine', 'risperidone', 'olanzapine', 'ziprasidone', 'quetiapine', 'sertindole', 'aripiprazole', 'paliperidone', 'amisulpride', 'zotepine', 'asenapine', 'iloperidone', 'lurasidone', 'perospirone' and 'blonanserin' in the article titles. Certain bibliometric indicators of production and dispersion (e.g. Price's Law on the increase of scientific literature, and Bradford's Law) were applied, and the participation index of various countries was calculated. The bibliometric data was also correlated with some social and health data from Singapore, such as the total per capita expenditure on health and gross domestic expenditure on research and development., Results: From 1997 to 2011, a total of 51 articles on SGAs in Singapore were published. Our results suggested non-fulfilment of Price's Law (r = 0.0648 after exponential adjustment vs. r = 0.2140 after linear adjustment). The most widely studied drugs were clozapine (21 articles), risperidone (16 articles) and olanzapine (8 articles). Division into Bradford zones yielded a nucleus occupied by the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (6 articles) and the Singapore Medical Journal(4 articles). The analysed material was published in a total of 30 journals, with the majority from six journals. Four of these six journals have an impact factor greater than 2., Conclusion: Publications on SGAs in Singapore are still too few to confirm an exponential growth of scientific literature.

Objective: We have carried out a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications related to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its pharmacological treatment over the period 1980-2005., Method: We selected (in EMBASE and MEDLINE databases) documents that contained in their title the descriptors attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, attention deficit disorder, ADHD and ADD. As bibliometric indicators of production and dispersion we applied Price's Law and Bradford's Law, respectively. We also calculated the national participation index (PI) and correlated it with overall PI in biomedical and health sciences, with PI in the discipline of Psychiatry and with the social-health indicators (per capita Gross Domestic Product, number of physicians and total per capita expenditure on health)., Results: We obtained 5,269 original documents (2,325 corresponded to pharmacological therapy). Our results indicate fulfilment of Price's Law, since scientific production on ADHD undergoes exponential growth (correlation coefficient r = 0.9859, vs. r = 0.9011 after linear adjustment). The most widely studied drugs are methylphenidate (1,251 documents). Division into Bradford zones yields a nucleus occupied exclusively by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (500 articles). A total of 866 different journals were employed. Twelve of the first 20 used journals have an Impact Factor > 2. The principal producer country is the United States (PI = 44.2). Only four countries, of the 20 major producers in health sciences, surpass their own PI in the field of Psychiatry (Brazil, China, Spain and the United States). The correlation between PI and total number of physicians for each country situates Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel in the top positions., Conclusion: Productivity on ADHD has undergone exponential growth in the period 1980-2005, without evidence a saturation point.

In diverse areas of therapy, including psychiatry, increasing interest in herbal medicine has been shown in recent years. Plants have a wide range of traditional uses, but only a few have been approved therapeutically. Moreover, to our knowledge, no bibliometric analyses on medicinal plants used in psychiatry have been carried out to date. We performed a bibliometric study on scientific publication related to phytotherapy in the psychiatry area during the period 1986-2006. Using the platform Embase.com, including the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases, we selected those documents including the descriptors plant*, herb*, phytotherapy*, phytomedicine*, pharmacognosy*, and psychiatry* (with all diagnostic criteria). The plants' indications were selected according to the PDR for Herbal Medicines. As a bibliometric indicator of the production, Price's Law was applied. Another indicator included was the national participation index (PI) for overall scientific production. A total of 21,409 original documents were obtained. Our data confirm a fulfillment of Price's Law related to scientific production on medicinal plants in Psychiatry. This was observed after we made a linear fit (y=135.08x-466.38; r=0.92) and another fit to an exponential curve (y=132.26e(0.1497x); r=0.99). The plants most widely mentioned in the psychiatric literature were St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.; n=937) and ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.; n=694). The countries with the highest percentages of documents were the United States (29.44%), Germany (9.41%) and Japan (8.75%), and those with highest proportional PI were India (IPa=0.935) and China (IPa=0.721). Productivity on medicinal plants in the psychiatry area increased during the period 1986-2006. Nevertheless, documents about therapeutic herbs in this medical field are still relatively few in number.

Background: Our purpose was to examine the use of classification and diagnostic systems in the field of psychiatry (CDSP) from a bibliometric perspective, over the period 1980-2005., Methods: We selected (in EMBASE and MEDLINE databases) documents that contained, in any of their sections, the descriptors 'psychiatr*', 'DSM*', 'ICD*', or 'diagnostic criteria',as well as other more specific descriptors. As a bibliometric indicator of production we applied Price's law. We also calculated the national participation index (PI) and correlated it with overall PI in biomedical and health sciences, and with PI in the discipline of psychiatry., Results: We obtained 20,564 original documents; 15,743 referred to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and 3,106 to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Our results indicate non-fulfilment of Price's law, since scientific production on CDSP does not undergo exponential growth (correlation coefficient r = 0.9651, vs. r = 0.9927 after linear adjustment). Of the 10 journals with the highest impact factor in the field of psychiatry, the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has the highest PI in the DSM subgroup (PI = 14.77), and the British Journal of Psychiatry in the ICD subgroup (PI = 1.54). The principal producer country is the United States (PI = 37.9), though in proportion to its production in the psychiatric field the ranking is headed by Finland. Only 10 countries, of the 20 major producers in health sciences, surpass their own PI in the field of psychiatry (Brazil, Italy, Japan, Austria, Spain, Germany, France, India, Switzerland, and China)., Conclusions: Over recent years, the use of CDSP (basically the DSM or ICD) in the scientific literature has increased. Nevertheless, the abstracts to these studies, included in the principal databases, should always specify the diagnostic criteria employed, with a view to increasing information levels and reliability for the reader., ((c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel)

Background: To carry out a bibliometric study on the scientific publications in relation to bipolar disorder., Methods: Using the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases, we selected those documents whose title included the descriptors bipolar disorder, bipolar illness, bipolar patient, bipolar mani, bipolar depress, bipolar spectrum, manic-depressive, and rapid cycling. We applied some bibliometric indicators, as Price's Law on the increase of scientific literature, or the participation index (PI) of the different countries. The bibliometric data have also been correlated with some social and health data from the countries that are most prolific in biomedical scientific production, such as number of physicians, total per capita expenditure on health and overall volume of production in the field of psychiatry., Results: A total of 4270 original documents published between 1980 and 2004 were downloaded, of which 1825 corresponded to aspects related to drug therapy. Our results state fulfilment of Price's Law, with scientific production on bipolar disorder showing exponential growth (correlation coefficient r = 0.947, as against an r = 0.849 after linear adjustment). The drugs most widely studied are lithium (1351 documents), valproate (544), carbamazepine (493), lamotrigine (240), and olanzapine (210). United States is the most productive country (participation index, PI = 44.2), followed by the United Kingdom (14.4), Netherlands (9.1) and France (4.1)., Conclusion: The publications on bipolar disorder and mood stabilizers have undergone exponential growth over the last 25 years, without evidence a saturation point.

Objective: The present bibliometric study analyzes Spanish scientific work published in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in the most important journals during the period 1986-2002., Study Design: The material studied (779 original documents) was selected in accordance with the science citation index (SCI) of 2001, obstetrics and gynecology section, using the EMBASE: Obstetrics and Gynecology database. We applied the customary rules of bibliometrics: Price's Law of increase in scientific literature, Bradford's Law of scattering of scientific literature and Lotka's Law of author productivity. Furthermore, we analyzed participation index (PaI), the collaboration index and the superior (%SUP)., Results: The material studied is closer to an exponential adjustment (r = 0.958) than to a linear adjustment (r = 0.856). The journal with the largest number of originals is Human Reproduction (Bradford's first area), with 217 articles and that with the highest PaI is Menopause (4.07). The total number of authors is 1829, who are responsible for 3938 authorships (2.79% of the authors have a productivity index (PI) > or = 1 and 70.09% have a PI = 0). The majority of the studies were carried out in hospitals (47.62%) and universities (23.36%)., Conclusion: Spanish productivity in the field of obstetrics and gynecology increased considerably in the period 1986-2002.

We performed a bibliometric study of the scientific publications referring to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The database used was EMBASE: Psychiatry. We applied the principal bibliometric indicators: Price's and Bradford's laws on the increase or dispersion of scientific literature, Lotka's law on the productivity of authors, the participation index (PaI) of countries, the productivity index (PI) of authors, and the collaboration index. By means of manual coding, documents were classified according to type of study and to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) or nonpsychiatric categories. We analysed 3,622 original documents published between 1980 and 2000. Our results show nonfulfilment of Price's law because production on SSRIs does not grow exponentially (r=0.937 vs. r = 0.946, after linear adjustment). The journal most employed is the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Bradford's first zone). The United States is the most productive country (PaI=41.50). The documents were distributed in four groups: experimental pharmacology (8.38%), tolerance and safety (34.94%), clinical efficacy (49.11%), and not specified (7.56%). The drug most studied was fluoxetine (1,745 articles), followed by paroxetine (659). The DSM-IV diagnostic categories most studied were depression (834), obsessive-compulsive disorder (171), and panic disorder (75). The control antidepressants most used in comparative clinical studies were amitriptyline (51) and imipramine (42). The results of the present study show that the SSRIs are not solely antidepressant drugs, but also have a wide range of uses both within the psychiatric sphere (especially in the field of anxiety) and outside it, which explains the considerable scientific production generated in relation to these drugs., (Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Introduction: Melatonin is a neurohormone that it has high interest for sleep researchers. There are some substances uses for sleep disorders. In this sense, melatonin prolonged release has been approved like drug for treatment of primary sleep disorder, and included in a new class of drugs: melatoninergic agonist. We would like to review, first of all the evolution of scientific research about use of melatonin in sleep disorder, and then the evolution of scientist’s paper about melatonin’s formulation, covering the period 1993–2012. Materials and methods: Using Medline database we selected those document that content in their title one or several of the following descriptors: “sleep disorder*” and “melatonin*”. This study took into account all original articles, brief reports, reviews, editorials, letters to the editor, and so on. One of main bibliometric laws were applied: Price’s Law on the increase in scientific literature. This law, undoubtedly the most widely used indicator for the analysis of productivity in a specific discipline or a particular country, takes into account an essential feature of scientific production, which is its exponential growth. Moreover, we conduct a sub-analysis for evolution to different formulation (immediate release and prolonged release melatonin). Results: From the search on Pubmed 36,128 documents (sleep disorder) and 1140 (combined with melatonin) were selected. In order to assess whether the growth of scientific production in sleep disorder and melatonin follows Price’s Law of Exponential Growth, we carried out a linear adjustment of the data obtained, according to the equation y =5.9707x +23.258, and another adjustment to an exponential curve, according to the equation y =27,915e0.0927x. Mathematical adjustment to an exponential curve, allows us to obtain a correlation coefficient r =0.828. On the other hand, linear adjustment to the measured values provides an r =0.924. The repertoire analyzed is more suited to a linear adjustment than an exponential adjustment. Moreover, 2% of total documents corresponding to prolonged release melatonin. And of these, 80% have been published in the last 5years. Conclusion: To conclude a high papers on sleep disorder has been published, but for melatonin not fulfillment of Price Law. However, prolonged-release melatonin has increase in the last few years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]