Exploring the historical roots of Mesenchymal stem cell research using reference publication year spectroscopy
Résumé
Mesenchymal stem cells have been in the focus of research in the emerging field of regenerative medicine. It is also one of the most confusing and controversial. This paper applies Reference publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) in order to explore the historical roots of mesenchymal stem cell research by identifying the key historical publications that initiated the field. Analysis of top 10 cited references identified by the RPYS methodology revealed four papers that suffered from Delayed Recognition in terms of citations (DRs). Interestingly, all the DRs identified belong to a Russian scientist, Alexander J. Friedenstein, who is widely regarded as the discoverer of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The paper explains the reasons behind the delay in recognition of Friedenstein’s work using historical and sociological analysis