Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, fresh frozen human vitreous humor samples from normal healthy donors for research.
Vitreous is a transparent substance in the eye that is around 99 percent water. The remaining one percent is collagen and hyaluronic acid, which cause vitreous to have a gelatinous consistency.
Along with maintaining the shape of the eye, the vitreous helps absorb shocks to the eye and keeps the retina properly connected to the back wall of the eye. Light passes through the vitreous on its way to the retina.
Human Vitreous Humor Overview
Vitreous humor is a gel-like liquid between the lens and the retina. It is an essential part of the eye that helps the eye keep its shape and absorbs shock. It also maintains correct oxygen levels within the eye.
Vitreous humor It is also known as the vitreous body, this gel-like liquid comprises most of the eye, helping it to keep shape.
One of the crucial role of the vitreous is in the transmission of light, as the transparent nature of the vitreous allows the passage of refracted light towards the photoreceptors of the retinal tissue. The received light is then converted to electrical signals by the photoreceptors which are subsequently processed in the brain.
Vitreous humor in children has a consistency that resembles egg whites. As people age, it becomes more liquid. Thinning vitreous can cause the retina to separate from the back wall of the eye, often resulting in floaters, spots that appear to float in the field of vision.
This separation is called posterior vitreous detachment and occurs in the majority of people by age 70. So long as no retinal tearing occurs, this condition usually resolves itself without treatment.
What is Vitreous Humor?
The vitreous humor is a transparent, gel-like substance present in the eye. This substance makes up an estimated 80% of the eye’s total volume. It has several important functions, such as maintaining the shape of the eye, assisting vision, and absorbing shock.
Vitreous humor also acts to prevent physical damage to lens and retina by absorbing any mechanical impact, as well as preventing oxidative damage.
Anatomy
As a 2022 research review explains, the eye is a complex organ.
The outermost part of the front of the eye is the cornea, which partly acts as a protective layer.
Just behind the cornea is the iris. This is the colored section at the front of the eye. It can control the size of the pupil, the hole at the center of the iris, to determine how much light reaches the lens.
The lens is just behind the iris, and its job is to focus incoming light toward the retina.
The retina is at the very back of the eye. Its job is to register different properties of light before sending that information to the brain via the optic nerve.
Function of Vitreous Humor
Research from 2020 has shown that the vitreous has several important roles to play within the eye.
Maintaining the shape of the eye
Given its sizeable share of the eye’s total volume, the vitreous humor is essential for maintaining the shape of the eye. It holds the lens and retina in place.
Vision clarity
Because it is transparent, the vitreous humor allows light to travel through the lens and onto the retina.
Shock absorption
The vitreous humor is a soft, viscous liquid. For this reason, it allows the eye to absorb some shocks, which helps prevent certain injuries.
Maintaining oxygen gradient
For optimal eye function and to reduce oxidative stress, the eye must distribute oxygen in a specific way.
There should be a higher oxygen concentration near the retina and a lower oxygen concentration near the lens. The vitreous humor makes sure that the eye maintains a proper oxygen balance.
Vitreous Humor vs. Aqueous Humor
The eye contains two main liquid-like substances. One is the vitreous humor. The other is the aqueous humor.
Scientists have noted several important differences between these substances. For instance, aqueous humor is more water-like than vitreous humor, which has a gel-like consistency.
The aqueous humor is also present between the lens and the cornea.
Conditions and Disorders
It’s important to have regular eye exams because finding any kind of condition early is best for treatments and outcomes.
There are several eye conditions that affect or relate to aqueous and vitreous humors, including:
- Glaucoma: Glaucoma refers to damage of the optic nerve , which an increased aqueous fluid build-up and high pressure in your eye causes. Glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness in the world.
- Posterior vitreous detachment: As people get older, their vitreous humor gets thinner and eventually loosens from their retinas. When this happens, you may experience flashes and floaters, which may be due to a posterior vitreous detachment. Some people may develop a retinal tear or detachment, so everyone who experiences new flashes and floaters should have their eyes examined.
- Uveitis: Uveitis refers to a group of diseases that cause red eye, eye pain and inflammation. It can affect your retina, uvea and sclera. The uvea is the part of the eye that contains the ciliary body. The ciliary body is involved in making the aqueous humor.
- Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD): The changes in the vitreous humor as people get older can be a factor in AMD. This condition is the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 50. It affects their macula, the part of the retina that handles central vision.
- Macular hole: Holes in the macula happen because of trauma or because of another medical condition. It usually only happens in one eye. One treatment is a vitrectomy, which removes the vitreous humor and replaces it with another substance, like a gas.
Problems with Vitreous Humor
Injury
A person may injure the vitreous humor in several ways.
For instance, a 2022 review explains that the vitreous humor can sustain damage from blunt trauma. This involves a severe shock to the eye, such as from an object hitting the eye.
The vitreous humor can also sustain damage from penetrating trauma, which occurs when sharp objects poke into and damage the eye.
Eye injuries have potential adverse effects, such as posterior vitreous detachment, retinal tears, and retinal detachments.
This occurs when the retina detaches from the vitreous cortex. The vitreous cortex is a layer that separates the vitreous humor from the rest of the eye.
Other Concerns
According to a 2022 review, vitreous floaters are a common sign of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). This condition (PVD) is common in older individuals.
They can also develop for other reasons.
Vitreous floaters are more commonly known as just floaters. They are clumps of collagen fibers. Although they can be a little distracting, small amounts of floaters are not usually harmful.
If there is no serious underlying cause, vitreous floaters should resolve on their own.
Complications
Problems with the vitreous humor can have serious complications.
A posterior vitreous detachment can cause retinal damage, leading to loss of sight.
A PVD can also lead to vision loss in other ways. For instance, this condition can cause vitreous hemorrhage, when blood enters the vitreous humor.
Additionally, living with large numbers of vitreous floaters can be difficult. Research has shown that vitreous floaters can cause some people to develop suicidal ideation . This can happen with serious cases of PVD.
Tests to Check the health of the Vitreous Humor
Your eye care specialist will look carefully at your eyes during your eye exam. Your provider may use some or all of the following tests:
Eye Charts and Color Tests
You’ve probably seen the eye chart before, which has letters on it. The size of the letters keeps getting smaller with every line. Your provider may also have a test using colored dots to see if you can see the difference between colors.
Visual Field Tests
These tests let your provider know how well your eyes move and how far you see to either side of you. Your eye care specialist will move their finger from side to side near your face and may move their finger closer or farther. You’ll only be moving your eyes. Your provider might use a computer for this test.
Tests That May Require Dilation
Your provider will put eye drops in your eyes that make your pupils get bigger (dilate). This makes it easier for them to see all the parts of your eyes. Your provider will use a handheld instrument to look into your eyes. This is called ophthalmoscopy or fundoscopy.
Your provider may also dilate your eyes to do fundus photography or optical coherence tomography to take images of your retinas and optic nerves.
Tonography
This type of test examines pressure in your eye. An instrument called a tonometer blows a puff of air onto your eye. Your provider may give you eye drops to numb your eyes if there will be contact. There is a method that doesn’t require any contact between the equipment and your eye.
Surgery
In some cases, doctors must operate upon the vitreous humor. This need can arise when the vitreous humor becomes too cloudy or is otherwise unable to fulfill its function.
One such operation is a vitrectomy. As 2022 research explains, a vitrectomy removes the vitreous humor. Doctors aim to replace the vitreous humor with a synthetic substitute with similar properties.
Common Treatments Involving Vitreous Humor
Treatments for eye conditions that involve the aqueous humor or vitreous humor may include:
- Medications: These may be eye drops to reduce eye pressure or medications into your eye to stop new blood vessel formation.
- Laser therapy: This may be done to shrink blood vessels or repair your retina.
- Surgery: Your provider may suggest surgery to treat retinal tears or detachments. A vitrectomy is one of these surgeries.
Seeking Medical Help
If someone experiences noticeable changes in their vision, they should seek their doctor’s advice.
These changes might include a marked increase in vitreous humor floaters. They might also include the experience of bright flashes.
A 2022 review lists these as symptoms of posterior vitreous detachment. Combined, they require swift medical attention.
Research has shown that vitreous hemorrhage can indicate several serious conditions.
Care
Recommendations to Keep the Vitreous Humor in the Eyes Healthy
Tips include the following:
- Eat a healthy diet. Include green leafy vegetables, fruits.
- Follow the 20/20/20 rule if you spend a lot of time looking at computer, television and phone screens. This means you should look about 20 feet away for about 20 seconds every 20 minutes or so.
- Exercise. It’s good for you generally and can help keep you at a healthy weight.
- Get regular eye exams. Always let your provider know if you’re having any type of problem seeing.
- Wear eye protection, including your prescription glasses, sunglasses and protective glasses.
- Quit smoking. It’s not good for your eyes.
Treatments for Diseases Involving the Vitreous Humors
Treatments for eye conditions that involve the aqueous humor or vitreous humor may include:
- Medications: These may be eye drops to reduce eye pressure or medications into your eye to stop new blood vessel formation.
- Laser therapy: This may be done to shrink blood vessels or repair your retina.
- Surgery: Your provider may suggest surgery to treat retinal tears or detachments. A vitrectomy is one of these surgeries.
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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