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Morgellons

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Morgellons or Morgellons disease is the name for a polysymptomatic . Morgellons symptoms include skin lesions which can be anything from minor to disfiguring in their appearance, sensations of crawling and biting on and under the skin, and the appearance of fibers and granules coming out of the skin. According to statistics from the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF), the majority (95%) of affected patients also report symptoms of disabling fatigue and self-described "brain fog" or problems with attention. Patients also report a high incidence (50%) of fibromyalgia, joint pain, and sleep disorders. Other symptoms include hair loss, decline in vision, neurological disorders and disintegration of teeth in the absence of caries or gingivitis. Most patients are unable to continue working, and those who are able to continue working report that they do not function optimally. Many patients become socially isolated, either because they have become disfigured by the disease or because they are concerned about spreading it. The suffering caused by this disease is enormous.

The term Morgellons is not yet in accepted use by the medical community. There is no agreed-upon physical cause, etiology, diagnostic criteria or proven treatment. In June 2006 the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began organizing a committee for the purpose of investigating Morgellons.


Morgellons Research Foundation

Leitao, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and has worked as a chemist, formed the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF) in 2002. The Morgellons Research Foundation website states: "This non-profit foundation is dedicated to finding the cause of an emerging infectious disease, which mimics scabies and lice." The foundation attempts to raise public awareness of Morgellons via web and press campaigns. They are conducting research into the cause of the symptoms.

Preliminary Research Findings

Dr. Wymore of the Oklahoma State University recruited two Oklahoma State faculty physicians who tweezed fibers from beneath the skin of some Morgellons patients. The samples were sent to the Tulsa Police Department’s forensic laboratory. The police checked the samples against carpet and clothing fibers and other materials, and conducted chemical analyses and other tests, and found no matches against any fiber in their databases. However, the fibers taken from the Morgellons patients matched each other. These facts strongly support that the fibers are generated from within the patients as part of a disease process. Careful examination of the fibers further revealed that they are associated with hair follicles and may be composed of cellulose.

Dr. Citovsky of SUNY Stonybrook has also conducted some preliminary research on Morgellons. Preliminary findings indicate that Agrobacterium was found in the cells of Morgellons patients and may be involved in the etiology and /or progression of Morgellons disease. Pathogenic Agrobacterium is known to produce cellulose fibers at infection sties within host tissues and is commonly used in biotechnology to genetically alter plants. Preliminary findings indicate that Agrobacterium was found in the cells of Morgellons patients. In a CNN interview, Dr. Citovsky stated, "when I look into the skin of these Morgellons patients, I see DNA from something that could only come from a plant." Agrobacterium may very well be the pathogen that distinguishes Morgellons disease. If these results are confirmed, it would be the first example of a plant-infecting bacterium playing a role in human disease. Dr. Citovsky has received numerous additional samples from Morgellons patients, but due to a lack of funding, cannot test these samples at this time. They have applied for a grant from the National Institute of Heath to perform this work.

Many patients with Morgellons disease have positive Western blots for Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. It appears that there may be a connection between the two diseases.

Morgellons has been featured many times recently in the news media. It was also discussed in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology: The Mystery of Morgellons Disease: Savely VR, Leitao MM, Stricker RB. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2006;7 (1):1-5


Delusional parasitosis

Presentations of Morgellons are sometimes misdiagnosed as delusional parasitosis.


New CDC investigation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are launching a study of Morgellons disease: "We're going into this with an open mind," said Dan Rutz, spokesman for the CDC Morgellons task force that first met in June 2006.

"The 12-person CDC task force includes two pathologists, a toxicologist, an ethicist, a mental health expert and specialists in infectious, parasitic, environmental and chronic disease. The group is developing a case definition of Morgellons."

See also

References

  1. Delusions of Parasitosis versus Morgellons Disease: Are They One and the Same?
  2. Morgellons research Foundation, Letter to Congress
  3. "CDC considers Texas for Morgellons study", My San Antonio News, posted Jun 26, 2006, accessed Jun 26, 2006.
  4. CDC investigates whether bizarre Morgellons condition is real or imagined.

External links


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