credibility -

[Guest guest]

Lots of new info at PubMed. If someone has already posted these search results, please forgive. I rarely check in these days. Death in family, loss of two friends, whole house flood, trauma etc. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=morgellons

Outstanding article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257881/?tool=pubmed

In addition to a spirochetal association, Morgellons

disease is characterized by dermatological lesions associated with filament

formation. Symptoms such as fatigue, neurological disorders, and joint pain

suggest systemic involvement as well as dermopathy. Peripheral neuropathy,

delayed capillary refill, abnormal Romberg’s sign, decreased body temperature,

tachycardia, elevated proinflammatory markers, and elevated insulin levels are

reported to be objective clinical evidence of the disease.

....

Many physicians continue to equate Morgellons disease

with delusions of parasitosis. It is unknown when this disease first appeared,

but descriptions of delusions of parasitosis date back to the 1950s and 1960s.

Some of these early cases mention “threads†or other debris coming from skin

and failure of psychotherapy, and thus may have been cases of Morgellons

disease. The 2006 report by Savely et al of a patient who had Morgellons

disease for 20 years provides evidence that the disease dates to the mid 1980s.

....

Patients with Morgellons disease frequently describe

crawling, stinging, insect-like sensations, or sensations of “something trying

to penetrate the skin from the inside outâ€. These sensations are accompanied by

slow-healing skin lesions that appear spontaneously. Skin lesions can be minor

to disfiguring and associated with fibrous material either in strands or balls

of wound-up fibers. Granules have been observed that may demonstrate attached

fibers. “Black specks†or “black oil†associated with lesions have been

reported. Fibers may be present under unbroken skin as well as in lesions and

scabs.

....

Microangiomas found upon examination are reported. Healed

lesions demonstrate hyperpigmented scar tissue. Patients report changes to

their hair and changes to finger and toenails... the nail wall becomes raised,

with inflammation and suppuration of tissue surrounding the nail resulting in

nail plate destruction, separation of the nail, and defective growth at the

nail matrix. Nail changes in Morgellons disease provide further evidence of

spirochetal involvement, as noted above.

Other resources

http://www.lymeneteurope.org/news/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

http://www.theinfectiousdiseasesdaily.com/