Bordetella pertussis produces tracheal cytotoxin, which stops the cilia from beating. This prevents the cilia from clearing debris from the lungs, so the body responds by sending the host into a coughing fit. These coughs expel some bacteria into the air, which are free to infect other hosts. "B. pertussis" has the ability to inhibit the function of the host's immune system. The toxin, known as pertussis toxin (or PTx), inhibits G protein coupling that regulates an adenylate cyclase-mediated conversion of ATP to cyclic AMP. The end result is phagocytes convert too much ATP to cyclic AMP, which can cause disturbances in
Pick's disease Pick's disease Pick's disease is a specific pathology that is one of the causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. It is also known as Pick disease and PiD (not to be confused with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or Parkinson's disease (PD)). A defining characteristic of the disease is build-up of tau proteins in neurons, accumulating into silver-staining, spherical aggregations known as "Pick bodies". Common symptoms that are noticed early are personality and emotional changes, as well as deterioration of language. Pick's disease traditionally was a group of neurodegenerative diseases with symptoms attributable to frontal and temporal lobe dysfunction. This condition is