Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Ischemic cerebrovascular disease is a serious hazard to human health, which can not be treated effectively at present. How to promote recovery of impaired neural functions for patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease is the study focus.  
OBJECTIVE: To explore the literature data trends in the study of stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke by using search and the depth of analysis capabilities of CNKI database.
DESIGN: Bibliometric data analysis
DATA RETRIEVAL: A search of related literature of stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke was performed in CNKI database using the key words of “stem cells” “transplantation” and “cerebral ischemia” during 2006-01 to 2011-12. The retrieval results were analyzed, and the trends were described in words and graphics. 
SELECTION CRITERIA: Inclusive criteria: Basic research and clinical application of stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke. Exclusive criteria: (1) Literature has nothing to do with the purpose of this review. (2) Duplicated research literature. (3) Journal’s own information. (4) Unpublished papers. (5) The article needs to be retrieved by phone or manual searches. (6) Year book.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: The literatures were analyzed by published year, literature number, subject category, research institutions, source journals, literature citations, literature download frequency, associated literature, distribution of the author, distribution of the funding and major keywords. Additionally, the stem cells from different sources were compared in treating ischemic stroke.
RESULTS: A total of 231 research literatures related to stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke were retrieved in CNKI during 2006 to 2011. The number of papers was fluctuated in the past 6 years. Most literatures were published in 2007 and 2009. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, neural stem cells, and amniotic mesenchymal stem cells are the major cells in the study. Journal of Clinical Rehabilitative Tissue Engineering Research published 36 literatures, accounting for 15.6% of all literatures. A total of 44 articles were supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The frequently used key words in stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke are “cerebral ischemia”, “neural stem cells” and “bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells”.
CONCLUSION: The bibliometric data analysis on stem cell transplantation for treating ischemic stroke can provide valuable reference for Chinese medical physicians in ischemic stroke field.