The Mystery of Morgellons Disease

Savely, V. R.; Leitao, Mary M; Stricker, Raphael B.

doi:10.2165/00128071-200607010-00001

Cited by 74 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In this paper, the authors postulate that Morgellons "(…) is characterized by fiber-like strands extruding from the skin in conjunction with various dermatological and neuropsychiatric symptoms" and that it "(…) resembles and may be confused with delusional parasitosis," and they suggest an "(…) association with Lyme disease" with an "apparent response to antibacterial therapy." Although there are no data to support these conclusions, the authors indicate it "may be linked to an undefined infectious process" (281).…”

Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…She is the founder and current "executive director" of the MRF. In 2006, Leitao and two officials of the MRF published the first paper on Morgellons, in a dermatological journal (281). The two other authors are Ginger Savely, a registered nurse (part of the "medical advisory board" of the MRF), and a physician, William T. Harvey ("chairman" of the MRF).…”

Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…None of them provides any proof of a true infestation. Papers promoting the existence of Morgellons can easily be traced back to the MRF by checking the authors' addresses and affiliations (49,128,281). Next to Leitao, the most important protagonist of the Morgellons story is William T. Harvey, the present "chairman" of the MRF.…”

Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Delusional Infestation

Freudenmann

Lepping²

2009

Clin Microbiol Rev

235

367

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SUMMARY This papers aims at familiarizing psychiatric and nonpsychiatric readers with delusional infestation (DI), also known as delusional parasitosis. It is characterized by the fixed belief of being infested with pathogens against all medical evidence. DI is no single disorder but can occur as a delusional disorder of the somatic type (primary DI) or secondary to numerous other conditions. A set of minimal diagnostic criteria and a classification are provided. Patients with DI pose a truly interdisciplinary problem to the medical system. They avoid psychiatrists and consult dermatologists, microbiologists, or general practitioners but often lose faith in professional medicine. Epidemiology and history suggest that the imaginary pathogens change constantly, while the delusional theme “infestation” is stable and ubiquitous. Patients with self-diagnosed “Morgellons disease” can be seen as a variation of this delusional theme. For clinicians, clinical pathways for efficient diagnostics and etiology-specific treatment are provided. Specialized outpatient clinics in dermatology with a liaison psychiatrist are theoretically best placed to provide care. The most intricate problem is to engage patients in psychiatric therapy. In primary DI, antipsychotics are the treatment of choice, according to limited but sufficient evidence. Pimozide is no longer the treatment of choice for reasons of drug safety. Future research should focus on pathophysiology and the neural basis of DI, as well as on conclusive clinical trials, which are widely lacking. Innovative approaches will be needed, since otherwise patients are unlikely to adhere to any study protocol.

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Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Morgellons Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Delusional Infestation

Freudenmann

Lepping²

2009

Clin Microbiol Rev

235

367

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“…In a paper [134] What finally prompted CDC to investigate the disease was probably the discovery in January 2007 of Agrobacterium DNA in fibres of skin biopsies taken from Morgellons disease patients. The work was carried out by a team that included Vitaly Citovsky, a professor of molecular and cell biology at Stony Brook University in New York (SUNY), the very scientist who discovered Agrobacterium can transfer genes to human cells [129].…”

Section: Agrobacterium and Morgellons Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

The New Genetics and Natural versus Artificial Genetic Modification

Ho¹

2013

Entropy

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Abstract:The original rationale and impetus for artificial genetic modification was the "central dogma" of molecular biology that assumed DNA carries all the instructions for making an organism, which are transmitted via RNA to protein to biological function in linear causal chains. This is contrary to the reality of the "fluid genome" that has emerged since the mid-1970s. In order to survive, the organism needs to engage in natural genetic modification in real time, an exquisitely precise molecular dance of life with RNA and DNA responding to and participating in "downstream" biological functions. Artificial genetic modification, in contrast, is crude, imprecise, and interferes with the natural process. It drives natural systems towards maximum biosemiotic entropy as the perturbations are propagated and amplified through the complex cascades of interactions between subsystems that are essential for health and longevity.

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“…The symptoms of the restless legs syndrome are at first felt when the patient is at rest: an unpleasant sensation in the legs (rarely in the arms) accompanied by uncontrollable movements which become less intense when there is voluntary activity, to return when this activity ceases. Serious sleep disturbance results 3,4 . Both syndromes: the restless legs (Wittmaak --Ekbom) and the morgellons are now identified as two distinct entities, but there are some authors who still consider them as two aspects of the same entity because neuropsychiatric symptoms considered to be analogous can be observed in both cases.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%