Bay Biosciences provides fresh frozen bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) samples from unique patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Moreover, detailed clinical information associated with COPD samples is provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for development, discovery and research.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Overview

Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are defined as diseases affecting the airways and other structures of the lung. Among the most common, for instance, are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, occupational lung diseases, and pulmonary hypertension.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 3 million people die annually from COPD, accounting for an estimated 6% of deaths worldwide.

Additionally, it is predicted by WHO that COPD will rank as the third leading cause of death globally by 2030. Estimates indicate that 30 million people in the United States are affected by COPD, for example.

Moreover, chronic lower respiratory disease, primarily COPD, has been recorded as the third leading cause of death in the United States. Consequently, estimates suggest that the 20-year discounted direct medical costs attributable to COPD will amount to $800.90 billion, with expectations of $337.13 billion for male subjects and $463.77 billion for female subjects.

Smoking

The main cause of COPD in men and women in the U.S. is smoking, including both current and past smoking. In fact, a diagnosis of COPD has been reported by almost 15.7 million Americans (6.4%).

Furthermore, it is possible that millions more have COPD without knowing it. Specifically, cigarette smoking causes about 85 to 90 percent of all COPD cases.

Moreover, when a cigarette burns, it creates more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are harmful. As a result, the lungs’ defense against infections is weakened by the toxins in cigarette smoke; consequently, air passages are narrowed, swelling occurs in air tubes, and air sacs are destroyed, contributing to the factors involved.

What is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) stands as a primary, third leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally.

Moreover, the third leading cause of hospital readmissions in the United States is COPD. Specifically, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a group of progressive lung diseases.

Consequently, serious long-term disability and early death can be caused by COPD. In fact, higher deaths resulting from COPD in women are observed than in men. Furthermore, the most common diseases among these are emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Indeed, both of these conditions exist in most COPD patients. Notably, air sacs in the lungs are slowly destroyed by emphysema, which interferes with outward air flow.

Emphysema

As a result, shortness of breath is caused by emphysema. In particular, in individuals with emphysema, damage occurs to the air sacs in the lungs (alveoli).

Over time, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and rupture, resulting in larger air spaces rather than many small ones. Therefore, this reduction in surface area of the lungs decreases the amount of oxygen that reaches the bloodstream.

On the other hand, inflammation and narrowing of the tubes that carry air to the lungs (bronchial tubes) characterize chronic bronchitis, allowing mucus to accumulate and leading to a persistent cough.

Researchers estimate that, in fact, about 30 million people in the United States have COPD, with as many as half unaware of their condition. Furthermore, when untreated, COPD can lead to a faster progression of the disease, heart problems, and consequently worsening respiratory infections.

Symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) makes it harder for patients to breathe. Initially, symptoms may be mild at first, beginning with intermittent coughing and shortness of breath. However, as it progresses, symptoms can become more constant, to the point where it can become increasingly difficult to breathe.

Moreover, COPD patients experience wheezing and tightness in the chest or, in addition, have excess sputum production. Additionally, some patients with COPD have acute exacerbations, which are, specifically, flare-ups of severe symptoms.

Common Signs and Symptoms of COPD

The symptoms of COPD, however, often go unrecognized by many patients until the later stages of the disease. Furthermore, it is common for patients to believe that their shortness of breath or diminished ability to engage in everyday activities is simply due to “just getting older.”

Moreover, an important symptom of lung disease is shortness of breath. In addition, the common signs and symptoms of COPD include:

  • Anemia
  • Chronic cough
  • Dizziness
  • Fever
  • Shortness of breath  while doing everyday activities (dyspnea)
  • Frequent respiratory infectios
  • Blueness of the lips or fingernail beds (cyanosis) 
  • Pain in the chest
  • Fatigue
  • Producing a lot of mucus (also called phlegm or sputum)
  • Wheezing

Causes of COPD

The exact cause of COPD is unknown; however, the following factors contribute to COPD:

  • First smoking: Current smoking, past smoking, and exposure to secondhand smoke are known to be the main causes of COPD in men and women in the United States.
  • Nevertheless, as many as 1 out of 4 Americans with COPD have never smoked. Furthermore, long-term exposure to air pollution at home or work, including secondhand smoke, chemical fumes, and industrial dust, may also lead to COPD.
  • Additionally, respiratory infections are believed to play a role in the development of COPD
  • Lastly, a rare inherited disorder  called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) can also be a contributing factor.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Human biospecimens are available including cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors for controls, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.