Here, we present a protocol for conducting bibliometric analysis in biomedicine using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. We describe the steps for extracting data from Web of Science, data cleaning, and preprocessing. We then detail procedures for identifying research trends and collaboration networks by visualizing data with CiteSpace; mapping co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence using VOSviewer; and analyzing highly cited literature to identify key publications and trends. Finally, we outline techniques for interpreting the visualizations to draw meaningful conclusions about the research landscape. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Li et al.¹.

Soy is rich in plant protein, isoflavones, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. To clarify the associations between soy intake and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) events, we performed a meta-analysis and review. A total of 1963 studies met the inclusion criteria, and 29 articles with 16,521 T2D and 54,213 CVDs events were identified by the eligibility criteria. During a follow-up of 2.5–24 years, the risk of T2D, CVDs, coronary heart disease, and stroke in participants with the highest soy consumption decreased by 17% (total relative risk (TRR) = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.74–0.93), 13% (TRR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81–0.94), 21% (TRR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.71–0.88), and 12% (TRR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79–0.99), respectively, compared to the lowest sot consumption. A daily intake of 26.7 g of tofu reduced CVDs risk by 18% (TRR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.74–0.92) and 11.1 g of natto lowered the risk of CVDs by 17% (TRR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.78–0.89), especially stroke. This meta-analysis demonstrated that soy consumption was negatively associated with the risks of T2D and CVDs and a specific quantity of soy products was the most beneficial for the prevention of T2D and CVDs. This study has been registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42022360504).

The current diagnostic criteria for cancer cachexia are inconsistent, and the prognostic value of cachexia in gastric cancer (GC) is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the cachexia index (CXI) in patients with GC. We calculated the CXI as skeletal muscle index (SMI) × serum albumin/neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and a total of 161 and 163 patients were included in the high and low CXI groups, respectively. Low CXI was significantly associated with a more advanced tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) stage, a higher level of serum C-reactive protein, serum interleukin-6, and NLR, but also a decreased level of serum prealbumin and albumin. In addition, patients in the low CXI group were more likely to have postoperative pulmonary infections (9.8% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.03). Cox proportional analyses indicated that patients with low CXI (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.69; p < 0.001) or TNM stage III+IV (HR 4.38, 95% CI 2.54 to 7.55; p < 0.001) had a significantly poorer overall survival (OS). Kaplan–Meier survival curves suggested that patients with low CXI had a significantly decreased OS, which was not affected by subgroup analyses of different sex, age, cachexia, body mass index (BMI), and TNM stage. Furthermore, low CXI combined with cachexia, low BMI, or TNM stage III+IV caused the worst OS in each subgroup analysis, respectively. Our study demonstrated that CXI had a good prognostic value in GC. Greater attention should be paid to patients with low CXI, particularly those combined with cachexia, low BMI, or TNM stage III+IV.

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) salvage pathway in mammals. It is of great significance in the metabolic homeostasis and cell survival via synthesizing nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) through enzymatic activities, serving as a key protein involved in the host’s defense mechanism. The NAMPT metabolic pathway connects NAD-dependent sirtuin (SIRT) signaling, constituting the NAMPT–NAD–SIRT cascade, which is validated as a strong intrinsic defense system. Neurodegenerative diseases belong to the central nervous system (CNS) disease that seriously endangers human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed that neurodegenerative diseases will become the second leading cause of human death in the next two decades. However, effective drugs for neurodegenerative diseases are scant. NAMPT is specifically highly expressed in the hippocampus, which mediates cell self-renewal and proliferation and oligodendrocyte synthesis by inducing the biosynthesis of NAD in neural stem cells/progenitor cells. Owing to the active biological function of NAMPT in neurogenesis, targeting NAMPT may be a powerful therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases. This study aims to review the structure and biological functions, the correlation with neurodegenerative diseases, and treatment advance of NAMPT, aiming to provide a novel idea for targeted therapy of neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: The clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) are unclear. In this study, we compared the clinicopathological features, biomarkers, and prognoses between EOCRC and late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC). Methods: A search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library from inception to May 2024. The key outcomes were clinicopathological features, prevalence of molecular biomarker alterations, and 5-year overall survival (OS), with pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs), along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), calculated for each outcome. Results: Forty studies were included in the final analysis. EOCRC exhibited distal colon and rectum localization (OR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.55–0.62; P < 0.001), was poorly differentiated (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.52–0.60; P = 0.01), tended to be more mucinous or signet-ring cell carcinoma (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.52–0.60; P < 0.001), and was associated with advanced stages (OR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.30–1.71; P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (LNM) (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.53–0.60; P < 0.001), and distant metastasis (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.04–1.60; P = 0.02). EOCRC exhibited higher TP53 mutation rates (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.13–1.58; P < 0.001), MSI-H status (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.10–1.92; P = 0.01), but lower PIK3CA mutation rates (OR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88–0.99; P = 0.03). EOCRC and LOCRC had similar 5-year OS rates (HR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.79–1.30; P = 0.92). Although no significant difference was observed in the APC, BRAF, KRAS, NRAS, SM4D4, and MMR, subgroup analyses revealed that BRAF ( P = 0.01), KRAS mutations ( P < 0.001), and DNA hypermethylation ( P = 0.01) were less prevalent among westerners. Conclusion: EOCRC often presents with more aggressive and metastatic features due to its frequent diagnosis at advanced stages. TP53 mutations and the MSI-H status are prevalent in EOCRC. EOCRC’s prognosis is often comparable to LOCRC. Radical and tailored treatment strategies should be developed to improve the survival outcomes in advanced and metastatic EOCRC.

Periodontitis is the major cause of tooth loss in adults and one of the most common non-communicable diseases. Clinically, periodontitis impairs oral health and associated with various systemic diseases. Maintaining a healthy diet is considered risk reduction of periodontitis. To explore the causal effect between dietary data and periodontitis by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. A total of 11,704 participants and 21 dietary variables from the NHANES were in random forest to rank the importance in predicting periodontitis. Data were from the genome wide association studies (GWASs) database to estimate causal relationships between diet data and periodontitis. Two-sample MR analyses were conducted by using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. The MR showed alcohol consumption and sugars intake increased the risk of chronic periodontitis with odds ratio (OR) 2.768 (95% CI: 1.03e + 00–7.42e + 00) and 2.123 (95% CI: 1.06e + 00–4.26e + 00) respectively. Vitamins and minerals, including folic acid and folate, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, calcium, vitamin D and zinc, were not causally associated with chronic periodontitis. Alcohol consumption greater than 2.5 drinks per day and sugar intake more than 4.88 g increased the risk of periodontitis, with a calculated relative risk of 1.33 and 1.61, respectively. It is suggested to drink alcohol less than 2.5 drinks/day and consume sugar less than 4.88 g/day to avoid alcohol and sugar consumption promoting the development of periodontitis. Establishing a dietary pattern conducive to periodontal health may be the focus of further clinical research.