Morgellons Disease
Miranda Ruffner & Amber Naylor

What is Morgellons Disease?

Morgellons disease is a very poorly understood condition in which unusual thread-like fibers appear under the skin. There are about 14,000 people affected with this mysterious diease. Most experts say that this is a physical illness, while others claim it is a type of psychosis called “Delusional Parasitosis.” This is when a patient claims parasites have infected their skin. Others call it an “unexplained dermopathy” which means a skin condition that occurs with no known reason. Other medical professionals call it “The Fiber Disease.”

Symptoms of Morgellons Disease

Symptoms of Morgellons Disease include:
  1. -Skin Rashes or Sores That Cause Intense Itching
  2. -Crawling Sensations on and Under the Skin, Often Compared to Insects Moving, Stinging, or Biting,
  3. -Fibers, Threads or Black Stringy Material in and on Skin
  4. -Fibers Under Skin were Mostly Cotton
  5. -Severe Fatigue
  6. -Difficulty Concentrating
  7. -Short-Term Memory Loss
  8. -Hair Loss
  9. -Joint and Muscle Pain
  10. -Sleep Problems
  11. -Tooth Loss


How Morgellons Disease is Contracted

There are a lot of theories for how Morgellons is contracted but none have been proven to be true. It is believed that there is a corollation between Lyme Disease and Morgellons, as people who experience symptoms of Morgellons disease also have Lyme Disease. Some researchers also believe that a bacteria/fungus that grows on plants in Cali and tumors that grow on GMO plants (called Argobacterium) are somewhat related to Morgellons Disease. Other experts have found a relation between cattle tissue and human tissue, believing it to be related. This disease is not caused from an infection, therefore it is not contagious.

Systems Affected by Morgellons Disease

  1. Integumentary System
  2.      -Itchy skin, sensation of crawling on/under skin, sores, hair loss, skin rash.
  3. Central Nervous System
  4.      -Insomnia, short-term memory loss, fatigue
  5. Mental/Psychological
  6.      -Depression, increased irritability, bipolar
  7. Endocrinal
  8.      -Thyroid Dysfunction, Weight


Cures/Treatments for Morgellons Disease

There is currently no known cure for this disease. Treating any medical or psychiatric problems that occur around the same time as this disease seems to ease symptoms in some patients. Doctors found that using the drug Olanzapine (Zyprexa), which is used to treat psychosis, helps to ease symptoms of Morgellons.

Future Research for Morgellons

At Ohio State Univsersity, the biomedical research is performing microscopic, chemical and spectroscopic analyses on Morgellons Disease patients' tissues. They performed a survey of microbiological populations and will explore possible links with environmental or genetic factors to help identify the cause of Morgellons Disease. There is also a cattle study being performed on BDD, an infectious disease which has plagued cattle for decades, has fibers/filaments within their tissue and lesions that were recognized as a match to those found in the controversial disease known as Morgellons (MD) in humans. Studies on fibers/filaments from cattle with the bovine hoof disease and those found in MD suffers provided startling evidence challenging the dermatologists’ unfounded assumption that MD is a psychiatric disorder

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