A bibliometric trend analysis of stem cells and regenerative medicine research output in Iran: comparison with the global research output

This report is a bibliometric analysis of the growth rates of publications in the fields of stem cells and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in Iran and compares these rates with the rates in other regions of the world. PubMed database was used for extraction of relevant publications using MeSH terms. The data were extracted from 2001-2011 and the address fields of the publications were checked manually in order to allocate the publications to a relevant geographical region. Linear regression was used for fitting a linear model to the publications of a particular region and the slope of the model was used as an indicator of publication growth rate. Statistical comparison of the slopes of different regions showed that Iran enjoys a moderate growth rate in regards to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine publications (including stem cells-related papers) and a low growth rate in regards to general stem cells papers. Iran is a regionally dominant country in the field of tissue engineering but, not in the field of stem cells. Analysis of the annual growth rate showed a steady pattern of growth of tissue engineering papers and a random pattern of growth for general stem cells papers. This is an indication of instability in the general stem cell research and stability in the field of tissue engineering. Due to equal research funding opportunities, this observation is explained by the natural selection of the latter field by Iranian biomedical scientists. This natural selection should be supported and followed by policy makers in order to take advantage of current research interests and capabilities. It is recommended to view and manage stem cells research as a part of regenerative medicine not vice versa