Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade, liver biopsy tissue samples, FFPE tissue blocks with matched cryogenically preserved sera (serum), plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluid samples from patients diagnosed with Liver Cirrhosis.
The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from liver cirrhosis patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Biopsy tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.
The liver cirrhosis, sera (serum), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluids are processed from patients peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Liver Cirrhosis Overview
Cirrhosis is a late stage liver disease which causes scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions, such as an infection (hepatitis) and long term alcohol use.
In liver cirrhosis healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue and the liver is permanently damaged. Scar tissue creates problems and the liver stops working properly.
Several types of conditions and liver diseases destroy healthy liver cells, causing inflammation and cell death. This is followed by cell repair and finally tissue scarring as a result of the repair process.
The scar tissue blocks the flow of blood through the liver and slows the liver’s ability to process nutrients, hormones, drugs and natural toxins. It also reduces the production of proteins and other substances made by the liver. Cirrhosis eventually keeps the liver from working properly and late-stage cirrhosis can be life-threatening.
According to the NIDDK about 1 in 400 adults in the United States has cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is more common in adults ages 45 to 54, and It is more likely to affect men than women.
Function of the Liver
The liver is a large, meaty organ that sits on the right side of the belly. The liver is reddish-brown in color, weighs around three pounds and feels rubbery to the touch. Usually you can’t feel the liver, because it’s protected by the rib cage in the body.
The liver has two large sections, called the right and the left lobes. The gallbladder sits under the liver, along with parts of the pancreas and intestines. The liver and the surrounding organs work together to digest, absorb, and process food.
The liver’s main job is to filter the blood coming from the digestive tract, before passing it to the rest of the body. The liver also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs. As it does so, the liver secretes bile that ends up back in the intestines. The liver also makes proteins important for blood clotting and other functions.
The liver has many essential body functions, which include the following:
- Liver creates blood clotting proteins
- Liver produces bile, which helps the body absorb dietary fats, cholesterol, and vitamins A, D, E, and K
- Liver stores sugar and vitamins for later use by the body
- Liver purifies blood by removing toxins such as alcohol and bacteria from your system
Stages of Liver Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis in itself is already a late stage of liver damage. In the early stages of liver disease there will be inflammation of the liver. If this inflammation is not treated it can lead to scarring (fibrosis). At this stage it is still possible for the liver to heal with treatment.
If fibrosis of the liver is not treated, it can result in cirrhosis. At this stage, the scar tissue cannot heal, but the progression of the scarring may be prevented or slowed down.
Cirrhosis patients who have signs of complications may develop end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and the only treatment at this stage is liver transplantation.
- Stage 1 cirrhosis involves some scarring of the liver, but few symptoms. This stage is considered compensated cirrhosis, where there are no complications.
- Stage 2 cirrhosis includes worsening portal hypertension and the development of varices.
- Stage 3 cirrhosis involves the development of swelling in the abdomen and advanced liver scarring. This stage marks decompensated cirrhosis, with serious complications and possible liver failure.
- Stage 4 cirrhosis can be life threatening and people have develop end-stage liver disease (ESLD), which is fatal without a transplant.
How Liver Cirrhosis Develop
The liver is a very hardy organ and is normally able to regenerate damaged cells. Cirrhosis develops when the factors that damage the liver (such as alcohol and chronic viral infections) are present over a long period of time. When this happens, the liver becomes injured and scarred. A scarred liver cannot function properly, and ultimately, this may result in cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis causes the liver to shrink and harden. This makes it difficult for nutrient-rich blood to flow into the liver from the portal vein. The portal vein carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver. The pressure in the portal vein rises when blood can’t pass into the liver.
The end result is a serious condition called portal hypertension, in which the vein develops high blood pressure. This high-pressure system causes a backup, which leads to esophageal varices (similar to varicose veins), which can then burst and bleed.
Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cirrhosis
Patients with cirrhosis may have few or no symptoms and signs of liver disease. Some of the symptoms may be nonspecific, that means, they don’t suggest that the liver is their cause. Following are some of the common signs and symptoms of cirrhosis:
- Abdominal Pain
- Anorexia
- Blood in your stool
- Brown or orange color urine
- Confusion, difficulty thinking, memory loss
- Decreased appetite
- Easily bruising and bleeding
- Fluid buildup in the belly/abdomen (ascites)
- For female patients absent or loss of periods not related to menopause
- Redness in the palms and hands
- Spider-like blood vessels that surround small, red spots on your skin (telangiectasias)
- Impotence
- Itchy skin
- Jaundice
- Nose bleeds
- Swelling in your legs, feet and ankles (edema)
- Unexplained Weight Loss
- Weakness
Following are some other symptoms cirrhosis may develop:
- Bone disease, causing bones to break more easily
- Enlarged spleen
- Fever
- Severe muscle cramps
- Vomiting blood
Causes of Liver Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis usually develops because of another disease or liver problem. Following are some of the common causes of liver cirrhosis:
- Autoimmune hepatitis causes inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis.
- Alcohol abuse: Alcohol harms the liver. According to the NIDDK cirrhosis can develop in women who drink more than two alcoholic drinks per day (including beer and wine) for many years. For men, drinking more than three drinks a day for years can put them at risk for cirrhosis.
- Diseases that make it hard for your body to process sugars
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Obesity increases the chances of developing liver cirrhosis. It is important to lose weight and keep the blood sugar levels under control.
- Hepatitis B: can cause liver inflammation and damage that can lead to cirrhosis.
- Hepatitis C: Hepatitis C can be contracted through sexual intercourse or exposure to infected blood or blood products. It’s possible to be exposed to infected blood through contaminated needles of any source, including tattooing, piercing, intravenous drug abuse, and needle sharing.
- Certain genetic disorders
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Too much iron buildup in your body
- Wilson’s disease, where too much copper is stored in the liver
- Autoimmune diseases that cause your body to attack liver cells
- Blockage of the bile duct, which carries digestive enzymes from your liver into the intestines
- Some Infections, including brucellosis and syphilis
- Reactions to certain medications
Diagnosis of Liver Cirrhosis
The best test or gold standard for diagnosing cirrhosis is a biopsy of the liver. Liver biopsies carry a small risk for serious complications, and biopsy often is reserved for those patients in whom the diagnosis of the type of liver disease or the presence of cirrhosis is not clear.
The history, physical examination, or routine testing may suggest the possibility of cirrhosis. If cirrhosis is present, other tests can be used to determine the severity of the cirrhosis and the presence of complications. Diagnostic Tests also may be used to diagnose the underlying disease that is causing the cirrhosis.
Diagnostics tests can show the damage to the liver. Following are some of the diagnostics tests used for evaluation of liver cirrhosis:
- Albumin (to test for a protein produced in the liver)
- Alpha fetoprotein (a liver cancer screening)
- Complete blood count-CBC (to reveal anemia)
- Coagulation blood tests (to see how quickly blood clots)
- Liver function tests
Following are the additional diagnostic tests that can evaluate the problems with the liver:
- CT scan of the abdomen
- Endoscopy (to see if esophageal varices are present)
- MRI of the abdomen
- Liver biopsy (the definitive test for cirrhosis)
- Ultrasound scan of the liver
Complications of Liver Cirrhosis
If the blood is unable to pass through the liver, it creates a backup through other veins such as those in the esophagus. This backup is called esophageal varices. These veins are not built to handle high pressures, and begin to bulge from the extra blood flow.
Following are other complications caused by the cirrhosis of the liver:
- Ascites and edema
- Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)
- Esophageal varices
- Bruising (due to low platelet count and/or poor clotting)
- Bleeding (due to decreased clotting proteins)
- Gallstones (interference with bile flow can cause bile to harden and form stones)
- Hepatic encephalopathy (confusion due to the effects of blood toxins on the brain)
- Kidney failure
- Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
- Liver cancer
- Sensitivity to medications (the liver processes medications in the body)
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 aliquoting 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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