Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, frozen sera (serum), K2-EDTA plasma and matched peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC’s), bio-fluids from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients for research.
The PBMCs, sera (serum) and plasma bio-fluid specimens are processed from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Overview
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive form of dementia, which is a broader term for conditions that negatively affect memory, thinking, and behavior.
Dementia can have a range of causes, such as brain injuries or diseases. Sometimes the cause is unknown. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases.
Most patients with the disease get a diagnosis after age 65. If it’s diagnosed before then, it’s generally referred to as “younger onset” or “early onset” Alzheimer’s disease.
There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, but there are treatments that can slow the progression of the disease.
Dementia Vs Alzheimer’s Disease
The terms “dementia” and “Alzheimer’s” are sometimes used interchangeably. However, these two conditions aren’t the same. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia.
Dementia is a broader term for conditions with symptoms relating to memory loss, such as forgetfulness and confusion. Dementia includes more specific conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and others, which can cause these symptoms.
Causes, symptoms, and treatments can be different for these conditions.
Facts About Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Following are are some key facts about Alzheimer’s diseases:
- Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic (long-term), ongoing condition. It is not a typical sign of aging.
- There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s yet, but treatment can help slow the progression of the disease and may improve quality of life.
- Alzheimer’s and dementia aren’t the same thing. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia.
- Its symptoms come on gradually, and the effects on the brain are degenerative, meaning they cause slow decline.
- Anyone can get Alzheimer’s disease, but certain people are at higher risk for it. This includes people over age 65 and those with a family history of the condition.
- There’s no single expected outcome for patients with Alzheimer’s. Some people live a long time with mild cognitive damage, while others experience a more rapid onset of symptoms and quicker disease progression.
Each person’s journey with Alzheimer’s disease is different.
Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease, which means the symptoms will gradually increase over time. There are seven main stages:
Stages 1–3: Pre-dementia and mild cognitive impairment
- Stage-1. There are no symptoms at this stage.
- Stage-2. The earliest symptoms appear, such as forgetfulness.
- Stage-3. Mild physical and cognitive impairments appear, such as reduced memory and concentration. Learning new skills may become harder.
Stages 4–7: Dementia
- Stage-4. Alzheimer’s is often diagnosed at this stage, but it’s still considered mild. It’s common to notice memory loss and to have difficulty managing everyday tasks.
- Stage-5. Moderate to severe symptoms will require help from loved ones or caregivers. This is necessary to ensure that daily needs are being met, such as eating meals and managing the home.
- Stage-6. At this stage, a person with Alzheimer’s will need help with basic tasks, such as eating, dressing, and toileting.
- Stage-7. This is the most severe and final stage of Alzheimer’s. There is usually a progressive loss of speech and facial expressions. Movement is likely to become limited.
As a person progresses through these stages, they’ll need increasing support from their caregivers. Patients with Alzheimer’s typically live for 4 to 8 years after diagnosis, though some live for up to 20 years.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Everyone has episodes of forgetfulness from time to time. But people with Alzheimer’s disease display certain ongoing behaviors and symptoms that worsen over time. These can include:
- Becoming disoriented about times or places
- Decreased personal hygiene
- Memory loss affecting daily activities, such as keeping appointments
- Trouble with familiar tasks, such as using a microwave
- Difficulties with problem-solving
- Trouble with speech or writing
- Mood and personality changes
- Withdrawal from friends, family, and community
These signs don’t always mean that a person has Alzheimer’s. It’s important to see a doctor to determine the cause.
Symptoms of AD change according to the stage of the disease. In later stages, people with Alzheimer’s often have significant trouble with talking, moving, or responding to what’s happening around them.
Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
The only definitive way to diagnose someone with Alzheimer’s disease is to examine their brain tissue after death. But a doctor can use other examinations and tests to assess your mental abilities, diagnose dementia, and rule out other conditions.
The doctor will likely start by taking a medical history. They may ask about your:
- Current or past medications
- Diet, alcohol intake, and other lifestyle habits
- Family medical history
- Other current or past health conditions
- Symptoms
From there, your doctor will likely request several tests to help determine if you have Alzheimer’s disease.
Younger Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Alzheimer’s typically affects people ages 65 and older. However, it can occur in people as early as in their 30s, 40s, or 50s. This is called younger onset, or early onset Alzheimer’s. This type of Alzheimer’s affects fewer than 10 percent of all people with the condition.
Early signs can include mild memory loss and trouble concentrating or finishing everyday tasks. It can be hard to find the right words, and you may lose track of time.
Some studies have found that certain vision and eye changes could indicate early stage Alzheimer’s disease for people in their 50s and older.
People with a family history of younger onset Alzheimer’s are at greater risk of developing this condition. There are several rare genes that, together, cause groups of cases in some families. People with a family history of Alzheimer’s should talk with their d
Tests for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
There’s no definitive test for Alzheimer’s disease. However, mental, physical, neurological, and imaging tests can help your doctor reach a diagnosis.
Mental Status Test
Your doctor may start with a mental status test. This can help them assess your:
- Long-term memory
- Orientation to place and time
- Short-term memory
For example, they may ask you:
- Who the president is
- To remember and recall a short list of words
- What day it is
Physical Exam
Next, they’ll likely conduct a physical exam. For example, they may:
- Assess your heart rate
- Check your blood pressure
- Request urine or blood tests, in some cases
- Take your temperature
Neurological Exam
Your doctor may also conduct a neurological exam to rule out other possible diagnoses, such as acute medical issues like infection or stroke. During this exam, they will check your:
- Muscle tone
- Reflexes
- Speech
Imaging Tests
Your doctor may also order brain imaging studies. These studies, which will create pictures of your brain, can include:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. MRI can help pick up key markers, such as inflammation, bleeding, and structural issues.
- Computed tomography (CT) scan. CT scans take X-ray images, which can help your doctor look for abnormal characteristics in your brain.
Other tests your doctor may do include blood tests to check for genes that may indicate you have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
There’s no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, your doctor can recommend medications and other treatments to help ease your symptoms and delay the progression of the disease for as long as possible.
Early to Moderate AD
For early to moderate Alzheimer’s, your doctor may prescribe medications such as donepezil (Aricept) or rivastigmine (Exelon). These drugs can help maintain high levels of acetylcholine in your brain. This can help the nerve cells in your brain send and receive signals better. In turn, this may ease some symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
A newer medication called aducanumab (Aduhelm) is recommended only for those with early Alzheimer’s. It is thought to reduce the protein plaques that build up in the brain with Alzheimer’s. However, there are some concerns about whether the drug’s potential benefits outweigh its risks.
Moderate to Late Stage AD
To treat moderate to late stage Alzheimer’s, your doctor may prescribe donepezil (Aricept) or memantine (Namenda). Memantine can help block the effects of excess glutamate. Glutamate is a brain chemical that’s released in higher amounts in Alzheimer’s disease and damages brain cells.
Antidepressants
Your doctor may also recommend antidepressants, anti anxiety medications, or antipsychotics to help treat symptoms related to Alzheimer’s. These symptoms vary based on the progression of the disease, and can include:
- Agitation
- Depression
- Difficulty sleeping at night
- Hallucinations
Although the care needs of a person with Alzheimer’s will increase over time, the exact symptoms will be different from person to person.
Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
If you have MS, the protective layer of myelin around some of the nerve fibers of your brain, optic nerve, and spinal cord become damaged.
Reserachers think that this damage may result from an autoimmune process in which the immune system targets myelin. While more research is needed, an environmental trigger, such as a virus or toxin, may set off this process.
As your immune system damages the myelin, demyelination occurs. This can go into remission as new layers of myelin form, but chronic inflammation can lead to scar tissue, which can result in lasting neurological impairment.
MS is not hereditary, but having a parent or sibling with MS raises your risk slightly. Scientists have identified some genes that seem to increase susceptibility to developing MS, according to a review of studies published in 2011.
Risk Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Experts do not know why some people develop MS. However, several risk factors may increase the risk.
These include:
- Certain autoimmune disorders, such as type-1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Obesity
- Certain infections
- Having a close relative with MS
- Smoking
Alternate Treatments of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
In addition to medication, lifestyle changes can help you manage your condition. For example, your doctor might develop strategies to help you or your loved one:
- Create a calming environment
- Get enough rest every day
- Limit confusion
- Simplify tasks
- Use relaxation techniques
Vitamin E
Some studies have suggested that vitamin E could help slow the loss of functioning in Alzheimer’s, especially when taken with medications like donepezil that increase acetylcholine in the brain.
But other research found no benefits when taking vitamin E for Alzheimer’s disease. Overall, more evidence is needed.
In addition to lifestyle changes, there are several alterantive and complimentary therapies you can ask your doctor about.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Genetics
While there’s no one identifiable cause of Alzheimer’s, genetics may play a key role. One gene in particular is of interest to researchers. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a gene that’s been linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms in older adults.
Blood tests can determine if you have a particular version of this gene, which increases your risk of developing Alzheimer‘s. Keep in mind that even if someone has this gene, they may not get Alzheimer’s.
The opposite is also true: Someone may still get Alzheimer’s even if they don’t have the gene. There’s no way to tell for sure whether someone will develop Alzheimer’s.
Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Just as there’s no known cure for Alzheimer’s, there are no foolproof prventive measures. For now, health-promoting lifestyle habits are the best tools we have to prevent cognitive decline.
The following steps may help:
- Exercise regularly: Getting active reduces the risk of many conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- Keep your brain active: Try some cognitive training exercises.
- Eating well: Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
- Maintain an active social life. Friendships, volunteering, and hobbies are likely to benefit your overall health.
- Quit smoking: If you smoke, quitting benefits your health both immediately and in the long term.
Be sure to talk with your doctor before making any big changes in your lifestyle.
Summary
Alzheimer’s is a complicated disease, and scientists are working on unlocking its secrets. Living a healthy lifestyle may help prevent it. If you have a family history of Alzheimer’s, it’s important to discuss it with your doctor.
By the time Alzheimer‘s is diagnosed, the progression of the disease can’t be stopped. But treatment can help delay symptoms and improve your quality of life.
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.
Samples available include 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 available in all formats and types.
Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.
This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.
Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.
Including 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 serum, plasma and PBMC.
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) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:
- Peripheral whole-blood
- Amniotic fluid
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
- Sputum
- Pleural effusion
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Serum (sera)
- Plasma
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
- Saliva
- Buffy coat
- Urine
- Stool samples
- Aqueous humor
- Vitreous humor
- Kidney stones (renal calculi)
- Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.
We can also procure most human bio-specimens, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC 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 samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
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