Thursday, August 21, 2008

CDC Morgellons' Disease / research / mysterious skin disease / letter to MRS

Hi All
The link below is to an interesting article about Morgellons Disease, a new and strange illness that has just become known over the past few years. After reading the symptoms I recognized many of them as being similar to symptoms of 'microwave sickness'. Although the article mentions GM foods and exposure to soil, we need to ask - why is it concentrated in some of the biggest and most electro magnetic radiation polluted cities in North America? Could it be that EMR is damaging the immune systems of these people and allowing a relatively safe bacteria to become highly dangerous? Could EMR be changing a relatively safe bacteria in the soil, into a highly dangerous one. Are Morgellons victims electro hypersensitive? If the cause was purely soil based or GM food based, you would expect it to be very noticeable in the farming and rural community.
Researchers have already linked various skin problems to exposure of electro magnetic radiation, is this another skin condition caused by EMR? Morgellons appeared around the time that electro magnetic radiation from cell phone towers became common in our environment. Can it be linked to mobile phones and microwave radiation?
Note the researcher's reference to possible fungi growing from the bodies of Morgellons sufferers (second article below). Increased growth of fungi has also been linked to electro magnetic radiation!
Take a look at the Scanning Electron Micrograph photographs on the research page of the Morgellons Research Foundation site . Note the calcite on the first image. Is this something to do with calcium efflux, another serious effect of electro magnetic radiation?
Perhaps the CDC should launch an investigation into all the diseases and illnesses that may be caused by electro magnetic radiation.
Martin Weatherall

CDC launch investigation on Morgellons' Disease

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States announced the launch of an investigation on 'Morgellons Disease' in January 2008 [1], after receiving thousands of complaints from people with this bewildering condition, which it describes as follows [2]: "Persons who suffer from this unexplained skin condition report a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads, fibers, or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin, and/or skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores). In addition to skin manifestations, some sufferers also report fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in visions."

Trying to uncover the cause of Morgellans
By Da Weaz(Da Weaz)
Primary clusters were noted in Los Angeles and
San Francisco (California) and Houston, Dallas and
Austin (Texas). California accounted for 26 percent
of cases in the US, but all 50 US states and 15 other
nations, including Canada, ...
Weazl's Revenge -


Investigation of Novel Organism Implicated in Morgellons Disease


Introduction and Background:

Morgellons disease was first described 1674 and the term "Morgellons" was later reintroduced in 2002 to define an undiagnosed mysterious illness that afflicts tens or more likely hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States and around the world. The manifestations of the disease are consistent between sufferers in different parts of the world with one uniform clinical sign and that is the appearance of fibers of different colors that protrude out of the skin in different parts of the body. In addition to the appearance of fibers, patients describe painful deep lesions under the skin, rashes or sores, chronic fatigue, mental confusion, brain fog, memory loss, crawling, biting and stinging sensations and other psychological symptoms that vary in severity between sufferers.

To this day, the medical community remains divided on the definition of Morgellons disease and many still believe that it is a mental illness or Delusions of Parasitosis despite the availability of substantial compelling evidence that it is a real devastating disease that afflicts unknown numbers of humans (and possibly animals) around the world. It was not until recently that the CDC acknowledged that this is a real disease with an unknown etiology. They stopped short of calling it a contagious disease because little is known about the epidemiology of the disease.

Some of Morgellons sufferers describe an environmental exposure incident that preceded the onset of symptoms and others describe exposure to an individual that has the disease. This disease is an infectious disease in every sense of the word and has been reported to spread in households. The mode of transmission is not yet confirmed although there are reported cases of transmission through blood transfusion and others through physical contact with someone showing symptoms.

The symptoms are debilitating and cause a great deal of morbidity. In many cases, patients become disabled because of this disease, unable to carry on with their lives, lose their jobs, homes and can no longer afford the basics that we take for granted. Even worse than material loss is the social impact, rejection, family breakdown and mistreatment these patients receive from some members of the society and medical community.

The Morgellons Foundation, founded by a scientist and a mother of an infected child and led by a number of experienced clinicians and professionals has been making a tremendous outreach effort to educate the public and medical research community about this debilitating disease. Today, there are more than 10,000 families worldwide registered on the Morgellons Foundation website.

A CDC task force was formed in 2006 to investigate the epidemiology of Morgellons, and a study protocol is being developed to launch the investigation. We learned about the disease a year ago from a sufferer and started a preliminary investigation in 2006. The descriptions of the disease indicate that this is a systemic disease that has pulmonary, urinary tract, digestive tract, skin and neurological involvement. The complexity of the symptoms and the lack of a consistent clinical profile among patients makes it very difficult to identify the causative agent(s) especially that no one, up to date was able to isolate, culture or identify the origin of the fibers that many have photographed. A sizable library of images collected over the years showing auto fluorescence under different wavelengths, electron microscopy images and other high resolution images of the

fibers and skin lesions is posted on the web on different websites. We have collected in our laboratory a number of images of unstained fibers showing auto fluorescences with both the blue and red filters of an epifluorescent microscope. It is clear that a thorough investigation is in order to first identify the causative agent of this disease and second to possibly study this organism in vitro if it can be cultured in a laboratory environment in order to determine drug effectiveness and a possible treatment strategy.

Research Approach:

Several investigators have been attempting to study the fibers isolated from Morgellons patients. Biochemical studies as well as extensive microscopy studies have been carried out. The information available today is limited and does not provide an answer to what the causative agent of Morgellons could be.

Although we truly believe that all efforts to investigate this disease are of significance, we take a straightforward approach to the problem and our focus is on identifying the organism using genetic methods and tools available in our laboratory.

Based on the structures that we observed microscopically from a number of Morgellons patients and the clinical profiles, we have reasons to believe that this organism is not a virus or bacteria. We hypothesize that this organism is a more complex fungus, algae or a novel parasite. The fibers are most likely feeding structures as they have strong resemblance to aerial hyphae observed in many fungal species. Our research is focused on genetic investigations of the DNA in lesions and fibers. Our experiments will include assays that attempt to amplify any bacterial sequences and identify them by DNA sequencing if present to rule out or confirm that the organism is a bacteria as other investigators have hypothesized.

We believe that progress can be made using a genetics approach. Specific Aims:

1. To identify this organism (or organisms) on a genetic level based on DNA sequence. Determining the genus and species would allow us to gain more insights into the biology of this organism and therefore would facilitate further steps in this investigation.

2. To establish a cDNA library from the fibers, clone the individual cDNAs into DNA vectors and sequence at least 1000 colonies to gather as much sequence information as possible. Once that aim is accomplished, the sequences can be analyzed against published sequences to establish an identity of this organism.

3. To culture this organism in the laboratory using enriched cell culture media under conditions that are used in standard cell culture laboratories. Once that is achieved, we will be able to study the morphology and learn more about biochemical processes involved in metabolism and toxicity to the host.

4. To investigate drug resistance. This can be accomplished using different drugs used for organisms in the same class as the causative agent of Morgellons disease.

Experimental approach to Specific Aims:

1. Clongen Labs use universal primers for identification of bacteria and fungi by DNA sequencing. These procedures are offered as a service to our clients and the assays are established and are performed on a regular basis. These primer sets amplify regions of the DNA that are conserved among eubacteria or fungi. Once a DNA product is obtained, we sequence it using our in house sequencers and blast the results against published sequences to obtain an identification of the organism. We have been able to successfully amplify a conserved fungal region from fibers obtained from a Morgellons patient and will sequence the product soon to gather more information about the possible cause of this disease. We have four different primer sets that amplify four known conserved regions in the fungal genomes and will use all four to attempt amplification of DNA extracted from Investigation of Novel Organism Implicated in Morgellon's fibers and lesions received from Morgellons Patients. Our goal is to test at least 15 samples from different patients and compare the findings.

2. Establishment of a cDNA library will be performed according to standard molecular biology protocols and using commercial kits that are optimized to produce the most comprehensive cDNA libraries. Cloning will be carried out into a small DNA vector using TA cloning. Clones will be analyzed separately for sequence of the inserts and sequences will be gathered and analyzed against published sequences on different public databases.

3. Using our cell culture facility, we will use different media formulations in a 24 well format to culture the organism from a fresh sample in the laboratory in a cell culture incubator in the presence of 5% CO2. If successful, in vitro studies of the structure, metabolism and cell toxicity of the organism will be possible.

4. Once the above aims have been accomplished, it will be possible to study drug resistance in vitro using different drug formulations available commercially.

Background on Clongen Labs.: The company was founded and registered in 1999 in San Francisco , CA . The laboratory operations started in 2004 in Germantown , MD when the current laboratory facility was built. We are a CLIA-certified laboratory and licensed by the Maryland Office of Health and Mental Hygiene as a Clinical Laboratory. Our business is divided into main divisions:

Clinical Diagnostics and Contract Research. We offer clinical testing to patients (hospitals, medical centers, private physicians and other reference labs) and we also work with the leading pharmaceutical companies in the US and Europe , government agencies, Universities, research institutions and other private organizations. We have extensive expertise in Molecular Biology research and our laboratory is equipped with state of the art equipment (6 real time PCR machines, 6 conventional PCR machines, gel imaging equipment, 14 incubators, 2 DNA sequencers, 5 microscopes of different configurations and microscope camera, and over 150 other pieces of equipment).

Dr. Kilani holds a B.S. in Medical Technology (JST, 83-88), M.S. in Clinical Science (SFSU, 88-91) Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases and Immunity from UC Berkeley (1994-1999) and did his postdoctoral training from 1999-2001 at Stanford University Medical School, Microbiology Program. He has been working in the field of Molecular Diagnostics since.


Morgellon's Disease: Mysterious Ecto-Parasites

Transcript of a Four Part Series on CBS 47 Jacksonville News
Original article and video interview may be found HERE

A mysterious skin disease is currently spreading across America, and doctors are searching for answers on how to stop the epidemic.

The disease, called Morgellons Disease, is a parasite-like infection that literally makes the infected person's skin crawl. The disease has already been found in thousands of patients in Florida , Texas and California.


“It never goes away,” says another. “It doesn't die, it doesn't leave.”

What sounds like a science fiction movie is actually real life for the unlucky people who have contracted the disease which leaves painful sores all over the body. The sores ooze blue fibers, white threads and little black specks of sand-like material.

The worst part, patients say, is the creepy and constant sensation of bugs crawling under their skin.

Also discouraging, is the patient's treatment by doctors, who have little knowledge about the disease, and in specific cases have lacked compassion for the sufferers.

“I was so humiliated from the three doctors that I went to, that I just refused to go back,” said on patient.

Becky Bailey moved out of her Austin, Texas home and into a trailer hoping to escape the bugs that torment her.

"We ripped out our carpet and burned our carpet and furniture and move out into our R-V and they were still one me."

Without medical help, suffering families researched their symptoms on their own by way of the internet. Finally, they were able to put a name to their pain – Morgellons.

The sickly skin disease has actually been around for centuries. In 1935, an English physician wrote a paper about Morgellons including excerpts from medical journals from the 1600's, describing the disease.

Unfortunately, not much was known then about Morgellons -- and not much has been learned in the more than 400 years since.

What is known, is that many of people who may have it, suffer from these symptoms: constant itching/crawling sensation, chronic fatigue, brain fog or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, joint swelling or hair loss

What you should do if you have these symptoms, is as puzzling as the disease itself.

One woman in Pittsburgh, PA made it her mission to find out what causes and what will cure this bizarre disease.

Mary Leitao is a biologist and the creator the Morgellons Research Foundation in Pittsburgh.

Her goal is to get State Health Agencies and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to study this disease.

“It's inhumane that these people have been allowed to go home and have been forced to research this day in and day out for years on their own,” says Leitao.

Leitao's motivations come from her 6 year old boy Drew. Four years ago, he began to feel the itch.

"He started describing bugs. He said, mommy, bugs, and he would scratch."

Then came the sores that shed the fibers. Mary took drew to the doctor and the doctor said it was nothing to worry about.

"I was going to find an answer, or I was going to have to take my life, that's all there was too it."

Doctors don't know what causes the disease, who is at risk and exactly how many people may be suffering. The Morgellon Foundation says they have about 12 hundred people registered on their site. Those are only people who have a computer and happened to find them online.

In Jacksonville , more than a dozen cases have been found.

For Anne Dill, standing in her backyard, looking over the lake is physically and emotionally painful.

This silence and solitude serves as a constant reminder of what her family is facing.

"We're going to lose everything, our house, our dreams," says Dill.

Five years ago, the dills bought their dream home in Lake City. They spent most of their free time at their lake with friends, and thought life was pretty close to perfect.

Then, three years ago, Anne, her husband and their four children all got very sick at the very same time.

They think they have Morgellons, even though they have no idea how they would have contracted it.

Morgellons is an unusual parasite-like skin disease, which produces irritating sores all over the body.


The Dills say they're also plagued with a constant, creepy crawling feeling of bugs under their skin.

However, the most agonizing symptom is the chronic fatigue. The Dills are so tired and so weak, they spend nearly all of their time, at home.

The father, Tom Dill is the sickest. Along with the Morgellons, he's developed signs of Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a neurological disorder that robbed him of his muscle control. He's now bound to a wheelchair and has trouble speaking. Tom doesn't know if his two conditions are related. That has him worried about his children.

“I don't want to believe that what happened to me, happened to them."

But answers are hard to come by. In fact, doctors tell them the "bugs" they feel and sores they see, are only in their minds. In medical terms, they are delusional parasitosis.

"I don't know how a doctor couldn't see that, it's ridiculous, I can see it, I know there's something there, I'm like a freshman in high school and I know that there's something wrong."

Doctor Hardesh Garg is an internal medicine specialist in Jacksonville. He isn't surprised by the reaction the dills have been getting from doctors.

"A lot of times, not all of us, who feel like, if it doesn't exist in my medical book, it really doesn't exist and it must be a figment of your imagination," says Garg.

Doctor Garg has never seen a patient with Morgellons. However, he says this skin condition needs to be studied.

“Until we know what's causing it, can't say if it's infectious or not or how dangerous it is."

No doctors on the First Coast or Florida could be found who know anything about Morgellons. However, not all hope is lost. One medical professional in Austin, Texas may have found a clue to the Morgellon's mystery.

Ginger Savely is a nurse practitioner who specializes in treating the tick borne Lyme disease. She also has first hand experience with the mystery disease.

"Right now I think I have about twenty eight Morgellons patients," says Savely.

According to Savely, the anti-biotics she gives to patients with Lyme are also working on some Morgellon's patients.

But this treatment is also unproven, and since doctors don't know if it's contagious, the Dills say their home is now their prison.

So, the Dills spend a lot of quality time together. Five year old Hanna has been one of the Dill's secrets to survival, as her love for singing songs keeps the family entertained.

Recently researchers have been uncovered who have just published a study on an unknown skin disease with the exact same symptoms.

It is promising research that points to a critter that could be lurking in your home, and research the Dills may feel that every family should look into.

Since the CBS47 investigation began digging into the Morgellons mystery, dozens of people on the First Coast have been in contact, desperately looking for help.

One of these people is a nurse who lives in Saint John's Country. Her story is a striking example of how most patients with this bizarre skin disease are shut out by their doctors.

At the end of another exhausting day for Jane Waldoch, "I go to bed at 8:30 , 9 o'clock. I feel like a little old lady and I'm 51 years old."

Jane's fatigue is one of the many symptoms she has of the mystery skin disease, some call Morgellon's.

As a nurse for 24 years, her first reaction was to see a doctor. However, that is where her trouble began.

"I'm absolutely disappointed, disillusioned and very, very angry at the medical community,” says Waldoch.

In the past year, she's been referred to all kinds of doctors.

"Internal medicine, multiple dermatologists, infectious disease, then it went to Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Neurology..." she says.

The doctors saw the sores, but couldn't figure out what was causing them.

"They'd look at me and say, ‘Its dry skin, quit worrying about it.' I'm saying, 'This is the weirdest dry skin I've ever seen in my life!'"

Still, she followed doctors' orders, and took her medications; all two dozen bottles of them.

But none of these drugs worked. So Jane began collecting samples of what was coming out of her skin. She thought it would help her doctors diagnose this bizarre and painful skin condition.

She was wrong.

Doctors took it as a sign that Jane was delusional.

"One of the hallmark clues to delusional parasitosis is what they call the matchbox sign. I guess in the older days people would take their samples in little match boxes to their physician," she says.

Mary Leitao from the Morgellons foundation says patients would do this to prove they were telling the truth.

Jane says she finds fibers that look like crunched up bugs in her sheets every morning. They come from the dozens of sores that cover her arms, legs, back and neck.

"I never thought I'd be in this position, of being embarrassed with who I am, and what I look like."

However, Jane is coming forward, hoping her story will help find a cure, especially for the youngest victims.

Jane is not the only case of the mystery disease found on the first coast. More than 100 people have confirmed they have been suffering from the exact same symptoms, some for as long two decades. Many of them have been diagnosed with delusions of parasitosis.

One research foundation estimates that there are more than 13-hundred people across the country with Morgellons symptoms.

The true number may be a lot higher.

Mary Leitao is a biologist and the executive director of the Morgellons Foundation. The foundation is studying this mysterious skin disease.

They call it Morgellons -- because it looks and sounds exactly like an infection doctors wrote about in the 1600's.

However, 400 years later, these stories don't add up to a diagnosis.

However, researchers may be getting the help they need to find a major breakthrough.

Deborah Altschuler is the president of the National Pediculosis Association in Boston, Massachusetts. The foundation was created to increase awareness about head lice and protect children from pesticides.

Altschuler has been studying a disease that sounds exactly like Morgellons disease.

“People were calling us with very similar symptoms from all over the country,” says Altschuler.

The NPA teamed up with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to study the creepy crawlers.

They took skin samples from 20 patients who claim they have the bugs, but were diagnosed by their doctors as delusional.

Researchers found collembolan, a microscopic critter, in 18 of the 20 patients.

Collembola feed on algae, bacteria and decaying matter. They thrive in wet or damp surroundings, and can be found under leaky kitchen or bathroom sinks, swimming pools, and the soil of potted plants.

The report was published in the journal of the New York Entomological Association. However, it wasn't enough evidence to get the centers for disease control to take action.

The CDC told Altschuler that the collembola was not a danger to humans, even though she says the CDC has shown her no specific study to prove it.

The Morgellons Foundation says it was also shot down by the CDC.

If the research on the collembola is right, researchers still have to figure out how serious these critters are to your health, and they have to find out how to kill them.

Morgellons Research Foundation
Attention - Mary Leitao
Executive Director
21 August 2008
Hi Mary
I am a founding director of WEEP - Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution, . We are a group based in Ontario, Canada who help persons affected by electro magnetic radiation (EMR) and raise awareness about the terrible health effects of EMR.
I am been reading about Morgellons Disease and recognize many of the symptoms as being similar to the symptoms of persons who are electro hypersensitive (EHS) and who suffer from microwave sickness. I suffer from electro hypersensitivity and have also experienced several of the symptoms reported by Morgellons sufferers. While I have not suffered from the fibres and sores etc, I have had itchy swollen and dry skin problems on my finger joints and elbows. I know the cause of my illness and sensitivity is caused by exposure to electrical fields, electro magnetic fields and electro magnetic radiation. When I keep my EMR exposure to a minimum, I can function quite normally.
Persons who suffer from EMR have a variety of different symptoms which vary widely from person to person. Several EHS sufferers have told me that they feel the itching of insect like crawling under their skin. I strongly believe that Morgellons sufferers may be electrosensitive and may be suffering from exposure to electro magnetic radiation. During the last few years EMR has become so widespread that it is often difficult to get away from. Much exposure to EMR can be controlled in people's homes.
I am hoping that you will find a volunteer group of Morgellons sufferers who will ensure that their levels of electro magnetic radiation is drastically reduced for several days to see if that helps their condition. Here are the most important steps that the volunteers should do -
1. Do not used cell phones except in an emergency, and keep any cell phones switched off until needed.
2. Unplug any cordless telephones (must be unplugged) and only use telephones that are wired into the phone outlets.
3. Remove any Wi Fi systems from the home or office and only use wired connections.
4. Keep computer use and TV viewing to a minimum.
5. Do not use a microwave oven.
6. Do not use any wireless games or other wireless devices.
7. When sleeping, turn off all electricity to the bedroom and areas surrounding the bedroom (including above and below) at the mains panel.
If several persons in different locations were to try these suggestions, we would have a good idea whether electro magnetic radiation is causing or affecting their conditions. You should also be aware that a strong external source of EMR, such as a powerful antenna in the neighbourhood, will negate or significantly affect the results. I hope that you will visit our web site (above) and also , a scientific site which refers to thousands of studies showing the health effects of electro magnetic radiation. I would also be pleased to send you some scientific studies about the health effects of EMR, if requested.
Even if this suggestion leads to no improvement in Morgellons, reduced exposure to electro magnetic radiation is likely to be very beneficial to health in the long run.
Yours sincerely
Martin Weatherall
Co-Director WEEP