Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade fresh frozen serum and plasma specimens from patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Moreover, the serum and plasma samples are processed from whole blood using customized protocols, from unique Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients for drug discover, research and development.

In addition, detailed clinical data, biomarker information, HLA annotations, and patients history associated with the RA samples is provided to a valued customer for drug discovery, development and research. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Overview

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune  and a chronic inflammatory disease. Therefore, it means that your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissue in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body.

Additionally, Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect more than just your joints. In some people, for instance, the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels.

In contrast to the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of the joints, resulting in a painful swelling that can eventually lead to bone erosion and joint deformity.

Furthermore, RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once, and it commonly affects joints in the hands, wrists, and knees.

Specifically, in a joint with RA, inflammation occurs in the lining of the joint, causing damage to joint tissue. Consequently, this tissue damage can cause long-lasting or chronic pain, unsteadiness (lack of balance), and deformity (misshapenness).

Signs and Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Signs and symptoms of RA usually occur in the wrists, hands, or feet and include:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people most often experience the onset of RA in their 60s. In addition, symptoms may start slowly and often worsen gradually with time.

People with RA usually experience periods when their symptoms get worse, known as flares. Furthermore, RA symptoms may flare up due to stress, overactivity, or stopping medications.

Moreover, sometimes, a person with RA can go into remission if their symptoms go away or are mild. However, most people continue to experience flares and remissions throughout their lives.

Specifically, RA usually affects the same joints on both sides of the body. Consequently, pain and stiffness tend to worsen after periods of inactivity.

In fact, severe RA can cause other complications throughout the body and lead to joint damage that may result in disability. Therefore, treatment can help manage the severity of symptoms and may reduce the likelihood of experiencing complications.

Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Nobody knows exactly what causes the immune system to malfunction, which leads to RA. However, it’s thought to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors.

In RA, the immune system attacks the synovium, the membrane lining of joints. Consequently, when this happens, the synovial cells proliferate, which leads to  synovial thickening. As a result, pain and inflammation result.

Ultimately, if left untreated, inflammation can invade and destroy cartilage – the connective tissue that cushions the ends of the bones.

Moreover, the tendons and ligaments that hold the joint together can also weaken and stretch. Thus, the joint can eventually lose its shape and configuration, and in turn, the damage can be severe.

Risk Factors of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

The CDC notes that those who may include people with a higher risk of developing RA are:

  • Firstly, are 60 years or older
  • Secondly, are female
  • Moreover, have specific genetic traits
  • Furthermore, have never given birth
  • In addition, have obesity
  • Lastly, smoke tobacco or whose parents smoked when they were children

Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

It may be difficult for a doctor to diagnose RA in its early stages; however, this is because it can resemble other conditions such as lupus (SLE) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Therefore, the CDC recommends getting a diagnosis within six months of the onset of symptoms so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.

In addition, a doctor will look at the person’s clinical signs of inflammation and ask how long the person has experienced them, as well as how severe their symptoms are. Furthermore, they will also perform a physical examination to check for swelling, functional limitations, or other unusual presentations.

Moreover, they may recommend some tests, including:

Blood tests

Several blood tests can help diagnose RA and rule out other conditions. They include:

Imaging scans and X-rays

An X-ray or MRI of a joint can help a doctor identify what type of arthritis is present and monitor the progress of a person’s RA over time..

Diagnostic criteria

Guidelines recommend the following criteria for diagnosing RA:

  • Blood tests indicate the presence of RA
  • Inflammation indicators, or acute phase reactants
  • Number and location of affected joints
  • Symptom duration

Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

If a person has a diagnosis of RA, a doctor may refer them to a specialist known as a rehumatologist, who will advise on treatment options.

Treatment will aim to:

  • First, prevent flares and reduce their severity if they occur
  • Second, reduce inflammation in the joints
  • Moreover, relieve pain
  • Additionally, minimize any loss of function caused by pain, joint damage, or deformity
  • Lastly, slow down or prevent damage to joints and organs

Medications

Additionally, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are available from pharmacies over the counter (OTC). For example, examples include Motrin, Advil, and Aleve.

However, long-term use and high doses can lead to side effects, including:

On the other hand, corticosteroids reduce pain and inflammation and may help slow joint damage, but they cannot cure RA.

If NSAIDs do not work, for instance, a doctor may inject a steroid into the joint. Consequently, relief is usually rapid, but the effect is variable. It can last a few weeks or months, depending on the severity of the symptoms.

This approach can help with acute symptoms or short-term flare-ups. Nevertheless, a doctor will limit steroid injections to no more than three times per year because of their impact on the soft tissue structures around the joints. Moreover, more frequent injections can potentially damage these structures or cause them to tear off from where they attach to bone.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)

DMARDs affect how the immune system works. Specifically, they can slow the progression of RA and prevent permanent damage to joints and other tissues by interfering with an overactive immune system.

Consequently, a person usually takes DMARDs for life. Furthermore, these types of medications are most effective if a person uses them in the early stages of RA; however, it can take several weeks to a couple of months to fully experience their benefits.

Moreover, some people may have to try different types of DMARDs before finding the most suitable one. 

Side effects can include:

  • An increased risk of infections
  • Abnormal blood counts
  • Immune-related disorders
  • Hair loss
  • Liver damage
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Nausea and loose stools

Biologic Treatments

Biologic treatments, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors, also change how the immune system works. Specifically, when the human body faces an infection or other threat, it produces TNF-alpha, an inflammatory substance. Consequently, TNF-alpha inhibitors suppress this substance and help prevent inflammation.

Moreover, TNF-alpha inhibitors can reduce pain, morning stiffness, and swollen or tender joints. As a result, people usually notice an improvement two weeks after starting treatment.

For instance, examples include:

  • Adalimumab (Humira)
  • Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia)
  • Etanercept (Enbrel)
  • Golimumab (Simponi)
  • Infliximab (Remicade)

However, possible side effects include:

  • A higher risk of infection
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Demyelinating diseases
  • Lymphomas
  • Kin reactions.
  • Lupus

Biospecimens

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.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, 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, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens 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 human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

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) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs 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 biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.