Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, fresh frozen biopsy tissue samples. FFPE tissue blocks with matched fresh, frozen sera (serum), plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids from patients diagnosed with endometriosis.
The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from endometriosis patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Biopsy tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with endometriosis and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.
Sera (serum), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluids are processed from endometriosis patients peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Endometriosis Overview
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the endometrium starts to grow outside the uterus, in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
It is a condition that can affect females of all ages, and can often present without symptoms, and therefore, is missed frequently as a diagnosis. Prevalence of endometriosis is between 5% and 10% in premenopausal women and can reach as high as 35% in women suffering from subfertility, as it can be a major cause of infecundity.
The tissue that grows outside the uterus in endometriosis is not the same as endometrial tissue, but they have some features in common.
The tissue can develop anywhere in the body, but it usually affects the pelvic area, including:
- The ovaries
- The fallopian tubes
- Tissues that support the uterus
- Outside of the uterus
Endometrial tissue can also develop in other areas including the abdomen, digestive tract, the lungs, and around the heart.
The body usually expels this type of tissue during menstruation, but the tissue that forms in endometriosis may remain in the body, which can lead to inflammation. As tissue decomposes, scar tissue can form.
Endometriosis can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life. In addition to the pain, they may experience the following conditions:
- Anxiety
- Chronic pain
- Concerns about not being able to become pregnant
- Difficulty maintaining a social life
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Stress
Signs and Symptoms of Endometriosis
Most women who have endometriosis, in fact, do not have symptoms. Of those whom do, the most common symptoms include the following:
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty getting pregnant
- Bowel and urinary problems, including pain,
- Blood in the stool or urine
- Long-term lower back and pelvic pain
- Nausea
- Painful cramping, similar to menstrual cramps
- Spotting or bleeding between periods
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Infertility
- Periods lasting longer than 7 days
- Vomiting
- Pain during sex
Pain is the most common indication of endometriosis, but the severity of the pain does not always correlate with the extent of the disease. It often disappears after menopause, when the body stops producing estrogen. However, if a patient uses hormone therapy during menopause, symptoms may persist.
Pregnancy may provide temporary relief from symptoms.
Causes of Endometriosis
The exact cause of endometriosis has not been identified. There are several theories regarding the cause, although no one theory has been scientifically proven.
During a regular menstrual cycle, your body sheds the lining of your uterus. This allows menstrual blood to flow from your uterus through the small opening in the cervix and out through your vagina.
One of the oldest theories is that endometriosis occurs due to a process called retrograde menstruation. This happens when menstrual blood flows back through your fallopian tubes into your pelvic cavity instead of leaving your body through the vagina.
Another theory is that hormones transform the cells outside the uterus into cells similar to those lining the inside of the uterus, known as endometrial cells.
There is also a theory is that the endometriosis may develop if small areas of your abdomen convert into endometrial tissue. This may happen because cells in your abdomen grow from embryonic cells, which can change shape and act like endometrial cells. Causes of why this happens Is unknown.
These displaced endometrial cells may be on your pelvic walls and the surfaces of your pelvic organs, such as your bladder, ovaries, and rectum. They continue to grow, thicken, and bleed over the course of your menstrual cycle in response to the hormones of your cycle.
It’s also possible for the menstrual blood to leak into the pelvic cavity through a surgical scar, such as after a cesarean delivery or C-section.
Stages of Endometriosis
Following are the four types or stages of endometriosis has four stages or types:
- Minimal Endometriosis
- Mild Endometriosis
- Moderate Endometriosis
- Severe Endometriosis
Several different factors determine the stage of endometriosis. Factors can include the location, number, size, and depth of endometrial implants.
Stage 1: Minimal
In minimal endometriosis, there are small lesions or wounds and shallow endometrial implants on the ovary. There may also be inflammation in or around the pelvic cavity.
Stage 2: Mild
Mild endometriosis involves light lesions and shallow implants on an ovary and the pelvic lining.
Stage 3: Moderate
Moderate endometriosis involves deep implants on the ovary and pelvic lining. There can also be additional lesions.
Stage 4: Severe
Severe stage of endometriosis involves deep implants on your pelvic lining and ovaries. There may also be lesions on the fallopian tubes and bowels.
The stages of endometriosis are not specifically linked to levels of pain, the impact on mental health, and other factors. However, the risk of infertility increases as the stages progress.
Diagnosis of Endometriosis
It can be difficult for a medical professional to diagnose endometriosis because no specific test can confirm it, and the symptoms may be hard to see. The symptoms can also resemble the symptoms of other conditions, such as ovarian cysts and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Your doctor will perform one or more of the following tests:
- Biopsy
- Pelvic exam
- Imaging tests, such as an ultrasound or MRI scan
- Laparoscopy
Usually diagnosis of endometriosis is confirmed by a surgical laparoscopy. This procedure is a minimally invasive in which a doctor inserts a laparoscope through a small incision in the pelvic area. This provides images of tissue changes.
Treatment of Endometriosis
There is currently no cure for endometriosis, but various treatment options are available to help manage the symptoms.
Following are some of the available treatment options for endometriosis:
Pain Relief
Medications can help manage pain. They include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and drugs to relieve painful menstruation. If over-the-counter options do not help, a doctor may prescribe stronger drugs.
Hormonal Treatment
A doctor may recommend birth control pills or other hormonal methods of birth control, such as the Mirena device. In some cases, they may recommend gonadotrophin-releasing hormone.
These may reduce estrogen levels and help limit the development of unwanted tissue. However, these cannot repair adhesions or improve fertility.
Taking supplemental hormones can sometimes relieve pain and stop the progression of endometriosis. Hormone therapy helps your body regulate the monthly hormonal changes that promote the tissue growth that occurs when you have endometriosis.
Hormonal Contraceptives
Hormonal contraceptives decrease fertility by preventing the monthly growth and buildup of endometrial tissue. Birth control pills, patches and vaginal rings can reduce or even eliminate the pain in less severe endometriosis.
The medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera) injection is also effective in stopping menstruation. It stops the growth of endometrial implants. It relieves pain and other symptoms. This may not be your first choice, however, because of the risk of decreased bone production, weight gain, and an increased incidence of depression in some cases.
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Agonists and Antagonists
Women take what are called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists and antagonists to block the production of estrogen which stimulate the ovaries. Estrogen is the hormone that’s mainly responsible for the development of female sexual characteristics. Blocking the production of estrogen prevents menstruation and creates an artificial menopause.
GnRH therapy has side effects like vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Taking small doses of estrogen and progesterone at the same time can help to limit or prevent these symptoms.
Danazol
Danazol is another medication used to stop menstruation and reduce symptoms. While taking danazol, the disease may continue to progress. Danazol can have side effects, including acne and hirsutism. Hirsutism is abnormal hair growth on the face and body.
Surgery
If other treatments do not work, a doctor may recommend surgery to remove unwanted tissue. In some cases, a hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries may be required.
Fertility treatment
If endometriosis affects fertility, in-vitro fertilization may be an option.
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 are cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma cancer PBMC and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own bio-repository, 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, 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, FFPE’s, tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC’s.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the researchers specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.
Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.
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’s)
- 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 and can-do special collections and requests of 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, PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols, you can buy donor specific sample 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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