Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade, frozen sera (serum) with matched K2-EDTA plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) samples from unique multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
The sera (serum), K2-EDTA plasma and PBMCs are processed from multiple sclerosis (MS) patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Overview
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).
In fact, MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers.
Although, signs and symptoms of MS vary widely between patients and depend on the location and severity of nerve fiber damage in the central nevous system.
However, some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or ambulate at all. Other individuals may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms depending on the type of MS they have.
Thus, there’s no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, there are treatments to help speed the recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis signs and symptoms may differ greatly from person to person and over the course of the disease depending on the location of affected nerve fibers.
Common symptoms include:
- Blurry vision
- Cognitive problems
- Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, especially bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
- Fatigue
- Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs that typically occurs on one side of your body at a time
- Lack of coordination
- Mood disturbances
- Partial or complete loss of vision, usually in one eye at a time, often with pain during eye movement
- Prolonged double vision
- Problems with sexual, bowel and bladder function
- Slurred speech
- Tingling
- Unsteady gait or inability to walk
- Vertigo
Progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Most patients with MS have a relapsing-remitting disease course. However, they experience periods of new symptoms or relapses that develop over days or weeks and usually improve partially or completely. These relapses are followed by quiet periods of disease remission that can last months or even years.
Although, small increases in body temperature can temporarily worsen signs and symptoms of MS. However, these aren’t considered true disease relapses but pseudorelapses.
In fact, At least 20% to 40% of those with relapsing-remitting MS can eventually develop a steady progression of symptoms, with or without periods of remission, within 10 to 20 years from disease onset. This is known as secondary-progressive MS.
Consequently, the worsening of symptoms usually includes problems with mobility and gait. The rate of disease progression varies greatly among people with secondary-progressive MS.
Some people with MS experience a gradual onset and steady progression of signs and symptoms without any relapses, known as primary-progressive MS.
Causes of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Although the cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. However, it’s considered an immune mediated disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues.
Likewise, in the case of MS, this immune system malfunction destroys the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord (myelin).
Also, myelin can be compared to the insulation coating on electrical wires. When the protective myelin is damaged and the nerve fiber is exposed, the messages that travel along that nerve fiber may be slowed or blocked.
It isn’t clear why MS develops in some people and not others. A combination of genetics and environmental factors appears to be responsible.
Risk Factors of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
These factors may increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis:
- Age. MS can occur at any age, but onset usually occurs around 20 and 40 years of age. However, younger and older people can be affected.
- Certain autoimmune diseases. You have a slightly higher risk of developing MS if you have other autoimmune disorders such as thyroid disease, pernicious anemia, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
- Family history. If one of your parents or siblings has had MS, you are at higher risk of developing the disease.
- Certain infections. A variety of viruses have been linked to MS, including Epstein-Barr, the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis.
- Obesity. An association with obesity and multiple sclerosis has been found in females. This is especially true for female childhood and adolescent obesity.
- Race. White people, particularly those of Northern European descent, are at highest risk of developing MS. People of Asian, African or Native American descent have the lowest risk. A recent study suggests that the number of Black and Hispanic young adults with multiple sclerosis may be greater than previously thought.
- Sex. Women are more than 2 to 3 times as likely as men are to have relapsing-remitting MS.
- Smoking. Smokers who experience an initial symptom that may signal MS are more likely than nonsmokers to develop a second event that confirms relapsing-remitting MS.
- Climate. MS is far more common in countries with temperate climates, including Canada, the northern United States, New Zealand, southeastern Australia and Europe. Your birth month may also affect the chances of developing multiple sclerosis, since exposure to the sun when a mother is pregnant seems to decrease later development of multiple sclerosis in these children.
- Vitamin D. Having low levels of vitamin D and low exposure to sunlight is associated with a greater risk of MS.
- Your genes. A gene on chromosome 6p21 has been found to be associated with multiple sclerosis.
Complications of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Patientswith multiple sclerosis may also develop:
- Muscle stiffness or spasms
- Severe weakness or paralysis, typically in the legs
- Problems with bladder, bowel or sexual function
- Cognitive problems, like forgetfulness or word finding difficulties
- Mood problems, such as depression, anxiety or mood swings
- Seizures, though very rare
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.
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.
In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
Also, all our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.
So this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.
Additionally, 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.
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 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.
Moreover, 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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