title: A bibliometric analysis of publications on pluripotent stem cell research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human pluripotent stem cells are self-renewing cells with the ability to differentiate into a variety of cells and are viewed to have great potential in the field of regenerative medicine. Research in pluripotent stem cells holds great promise for patient specific therapy in various diseases. In this study, pluripotent stem cell articles published from 1991 to 2012 were screened and retrieved from Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study, the publication trend, citation trends for top articles, distributions of journals and Web of Science categories were analyzed. Five bibliometric indicators including total articles, independent articles, collaborative articles, first author articles, and corresponding author articles were applied to compare publications between countries and institutions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The impact of top articles changed from year to year. Top cited articles in previous publication years were not the same as recent years. "Induced pluripotent stem cell (s)" and "embryonic stem cell (s)" were the most used author keywords in pluripotent stem cell research. In addition, the winner of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2012, Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, published four of the top ten most frequently cited articles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The comprehensive analysis of highly cited articles in the stem cell field could identify milestones and important contributors, giving a historic perspective on scientific progress.
authors: Changshuan L. Lin Consulting, LLC, PHC, 1010 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 USA.
authors: Changshuan L
authors: CL
authors: Lin
authors: Trend Research Centre, Asia University, 500 Lioufeng Road, Wufeng, Taichung County 41354, Taiwan.
authors: Yuh-Shan
authors: YS
authors: Ho
keywords: Embryonic Stem Cells; Pluripotent Stem Cells; Stem Cells