Facts Behind The Medical Mystery Of Morgellons - not just for tinfoil anymore

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It just takes time


http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8287547
May 7, 2008 10:15 PM CDT

CDC Looking Into Morgellons Syndrome

It has been nearly a year since Action News first started investigating a bizarre skin condition known as Morgellons. The mysterious infection causes open sores with string like fibers poking out of the skin. The condition has baffled health officials, leaving patients confused and frustrated.
Action News Kimberly Tere has more on the findings of one San Francisco doctor who says the disease is very real, very serious and talks about what might be causing it.

It sounds more like science fiction or something out of a horror movie. "When it hits, it just feels like something is crawling all over me," said patient Judy Johnson. Patients often complain of having mysterious red, blue and black fibers growing out of their bodies. "It is almost like these things are alive," said Johnson. It is called Morgellons and patients say it feels like insects are moving beneath and even biting their skin. "In addition to the skin lesions, they tend to get other symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches, joint pains and a lot of neurological and neuropsychiatries symptoms," said Dr. Stricker. More than 11,000 people in the United States have reported the same symptoms forcing the medical community to take a more serious look at Morgellons disease. San Francisco Doctor Raphael Stricker has been researching the condition and thinks he may have an explanation. "What we have found is there is a plant bacteria that is often found in the lesions that these patients have and we think that this plant bacteria may be involved in the cause of the disease," said Dr. Stricker.

Dr. Stricker says his patients have one thing in common. "These patients tend to have exposure to soil or dirt or some sort of plant life," said Dr. Stricker. But exactly how is the plant bacteria getting into their systems? Dr. Stricker believes it could be ticks. "We know that ticks can carry something like 40 different bacteria and so it is possible the ticks are picking up the plant bacteria and transmitting it along with the Lyme Disease infecting people through their bite," said Dr. Stricker.

In a recent study of Morgellons patients, 43 out of 44 of them tested positive for Lyme Disease.
"Very often when patients get treated for the Lyme Disease the Morgellons also gets better. So it does suggest that antibiotic treatment is useful for this disease," said Dr. Stricker. But an antibiotic treatment is not a miracle cure. "These people have been going from doctor to doctor and being told they are crazy. There is nothing wrong with them," said Dr. Stricker. It is a major source of frustration for patients who are suffering. "If I could have performed an amputation to willingly get rid of the pain, I think I would have willingly cut my leg off. It hurt that bad," said Johnson.

Doctors hope that the medical community accepts this condition not as science fiction, but as science fact. "Once we recognize this as a real disease then we can really start to do research and see what is causing it and try to find a cure," said Dr. Stricker. The US Centers For Disease Control is about to begin its first study on Morgellons. It is paying California based health care giant Kaiser Permanente $340,000 to test and interview patients with symptoms of the condition. The one year study will attempt to define the conditions and determine how common it is.