A bibliometric analysis of the hepatitis D virus and its therapeutic options

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a unique animal pathogen with a 1.7 kb genome. It is a satellite virus that requires another helper virus (Hepatitis B virus, HBV) to express its envelope or propagate in the host. Both HBV and HDV use the same entry receptor and envelope protein. The virus is known to infect worldwide, causing at least 15–20 million infections and severe liver disease. Eight major HDV genotypes have been isolated from different geographical locations. The Amazonian HDV, or genotype 3 (HDV-3), is more pathogenic and develops liver cirrhosis faster as compared to the other genotypes. No specific therapy or treatment is available because of the exceptional characteristics of the pathogen. Therapeutic targeting of the host factors is challenging owing to side effects. The present study is an attempt to review the therapeutic options for HDV through bibliometric approach. A bibliometric analysis is a mathematical method that provides a quantitative analysis of research articles on a specific topic at a specific time. This bibliometric analysis gives a brief description of HDV virus-related hepatic carcinoma or liver cirrhosis treatment. There are 1074 publications, including 638 original articles, 280 review articles, 33 chapters, and others in letters, conference papers, notes and editorial form. These articles were written by 4411 authors from 102 countries and published in 417 journals. Besides analysing the standard bibliometric parameters of country, author, citation and keywords, the review especially focuses on major reported treatment options. These include interferon alpha and a few pharmaceutical drugs like Bulevirtide, lonafarnib or nucleic acid polymers (NAPs) and clinical trials/drugs including IFN-lambda, VIR-2218 /VIR-3434, and JNJ-73763989. The information about ongoing research on the HDV virus with a focus on treatment approaches has been summarized.