Bordetella pertussis stain (Gram-negative, coccobacilli, diplococci arrangement), growth on Bordet-Gengou agar or BCYE plate with added cephalosporin to select for the organism, which shows mercury drop-like colonies. "B. pertussis" can also be detected by PCR, which is more sensitive than culture. The primers used for PCR usually target the transposable elements IS481 and IS1001. Several diagnostic tests are available, especially ELISA kits. These are designed to detect FHA and/or PT antibodies of IgG, IgA, or IgM. Some kits use a combination of antigens which lead to a higher sensitivity, but might also make the interpretation of the results harder, since one cannot
Binswanger's disease history of Binswanger's disease and the fact that it was overlooked as a disease for many years means many patients may have been misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Binswanger's disease Binswanger's disease, also known as subcortical leukoencephalopathy and subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE), is a form of small vessel vascular dementia caused by damage to the white brain matter. White matter atrophy can be caused by many circumstances including chronic hypertension as well as old age. This disease is characterized by loss of memory and intellectual function and by changes in mood. These changes encompass what are known as executive functions of