How has global research on neural degeneration in glaucoma evolved from 1977 to 2025? A pioneering bibliometric insight into trends, impact, and future directions.

Abstract

Neural degeneration plays a central role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, contributing to vision loss and disease progression. To identify research gaps and emerging trends, a focused bibliometric analysis of this domain was conducted. This study analyzed global research trends on neural degeneration in glaucoma from 1977 to 2025 using the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), with the search completed on 1 June 2025. The systematic search targeted terms related to nerve degeneration, neuroprotection, glaucomatous axonopathy, optic nerve, and retinal ganglion cells. A total of 3680 relevant documents were retrieved and analyzed using R-bibliometrix, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer software. Analysis included publication trends, key journals, prolific authors, citation patterns, and collaboration networks. Scientific output increased significantly from the 1990s, peaking with over 200 articles annually by 2019, followed by a moderate decline post-2020. Top journals included Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (314 articles) and Experimental Eye Research (161 articles). Bradford's Law identified a set of core sources contributing the majority of publications. Influential authors included Weinreb RN and Quigley HA, each with over 70 publications. The USA and China led in publication volume, while the USA dominated in citations with approximately 50,918. Co-authorship analysis revealed collaborative clusters, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of this field. Trending keywords evolved from foundational terms like "retinal ganglion cells" to advanced topics such as "optical coherence tomography angiography" and "intracellular-pressure." This bibliometric review outlines key patterns in glaucoma neurodegeneration research and highlights opportunities for future scientific inquiry.