Skin infestation a delusion, study says

Skin infestation a delusion, study says

(Health.com) -- For years, dermatologists have been aware of -- and baffled by -- people who feel a constant creepy-crawly sensation beneath their skin, which they believe is due to bugs, worms, or eggs below the surface.

Now, in the largest study to date to examine skin samples from patients with these symptoms, doctors have firm proof that these infestations -- known as delusional parasitosis or delusional infestation -- are not real.

Antipsychotic drugs are the standard treatment for delusional infestation. But, Davis says, "A lot of patients with this disorder don't want to take these drugs because they don't feel they have a delusional disorder."

Some patients who experience this skin-crawling sensation believe it is caused by textile-like fibers produced by an unknown organism.

Along with a group of sympathetic doctors and advocates, these patients have pushed for the condition to be officially recognized as Morgellons disease, and have lobbied -- successfully -- for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate it.

However, most doctors maintain that the condition is psychological rather than physical.

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I have never had, nor known anyone with this type of condition. I have read a lot of articles about Morgellons and to me they seem, for the most part, genuine about the condition they have. I mean I have had an itch before that didn't seem to go away but nothing compared to what these people have seemingly gone through.

So. Is this a big conspiracy by science and doctors to push "patients" towards big pharma for drugs they don't need and are probably bad for them ?
Are pharmaceuticals the answer for everything today ? Isn't that the way things were back in the 20s and 30s
When will we start overcrowding mental hospitals because someone has an itch and refuses to take some antipsychotic drug ?

Here's a documentary I'm watching right now:

Making A Killing: The Untold Story of Psychotropic Drugging

Usually when somebody feels bugs crawling under/on their skin it's because of terrible drugs.

Morgellons is certainly a tough issue... unaccepted or unknown by most doctors. I've read that genetic tests of morgellons 'material' has shown that it has the genes of several organisms. I read it a long time ago and I don't know what the source was, but that's another tough issue, seeing how its generally dismissed by 'credible' sources, usually before they even look into it.

Sure sounds like the movie "BUG", starring Ashley Judd. Fantastic movie showing the gradual progression of this psychological disease. She should have won awards for this performance.

reply to post by SMR


Someone ran the fibers through an FBI database. They were not any kind of known fiber. I can't believe this is psychological. The evidence just does not fit. No way. No how.

www.morgellons.org...

reply to post by grizzle2


I looked into what you said, and it's true.

Forensic scientist Ron Pogue at the Tulsa Police Crime Lab in Oklahoma checked a Morgellons sample against known fibers in the FBI's national database. "No, no match at all. So this is some strange stuff," Pogue says. He thinks the skeptics are wrong. "This isn't lint. This is not a commercial fiber. It's not." The lab's director, Mark Boese, says the fibers are "consistent with something that the body may be producing." He adds, "These fibers cannot be manmade and do not come from a plant. This could be a byproduct of a biological organism."

abcnews.go.com...

That fact alone should be reason enough for a thorough investigation into morgellons. You'd think the FBI might even be concerned that they didn't have this 'fiber' in their database.

reply to post by SMR
it looks like they are linking this disease to gmo's

The smoking gun is found Vitaly Citovsky is a professor of molecular and cell biology at Stony Brook University in New York (SUNY). He is a world authority on the genetic modification of cells by Agrobacterium, a soil bacterium widely used in creating genetically modified (GM) plants since the 1980s. Agrobacterium has the ability to invade a plant and then insert a large amount of its own DNA sequence to growing cells in the plant which cause it to grow a tumor (called crown gall disease) which then produces nutrition for the bacteria to grow and proliferate. When plants are being genetically modified (corn for example), agrobacterium is manipulated to contain the new genes (maybe to withstand some pest or fungus) and then is allowed to infect a healthy specimen where these genes will be incorporated in the plants DNA. The seeds of this infected plant will contain the new genetic information. Growing a plant from the seeds will result in a genetically "new" plant. But exactly the same process can occur when agrobacterium infects a human cell. Imagine splicing plant or virus DNA in the cells of your skin, or liver, kidneys or brain. What would the results be like? Does this happen in Morgellons victims? Vitaly Citovsky conducted a study: Skin biopsy samples from Morgellons patients were subjected to high-stringency polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for genes encoded by the Agrobacterium chromosome and also for Agrobacterium virulence (vir) genes and T-DNA on its Ti plasmid. They found that "all Morgellons patients screened to date have tested positive for the presence of Agrobacterium, whereas this microorganism has not been detected in any of the samples derived from the control, healthy individuals." Their preliminary conclusion is that "Agrobacterium may be involved in the etiology and/or progression" of Morgellons Disease. In short, Agrobacterium was found to transfer T-DNA into the chromosomes of human cells. The association of Morgellons Disease with dirt and soil where Agrobacterium lives, the widespread use of Agrobacterium in genetic engineering of plants, and the ability of Agrobacterium to infect human cells, all point towards a possible role of genetic engineering in the aetiology of Morgellans disease via Agrobacterium.

Really scary stuff I can't imagine how much these people are suffering,some have committed suicide after suffering with this for years.So where is the CDC when we need them?Why aren't they interested in finding out what this is?this is what I found

The CDC gets involved... to kill further research! Because of the publicity that the Morgellons Research Foundation attracted, certain politicians decided that it was politically valuable to at least appear sympathetic to this cause. In early 2008 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced that it was going to conduct an in-depth study of the disease through their association with the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in California. Kaiser was chosen, according to the CDC, because of the large population of California residents that claimed to suffer from the symptoms. At first there was a sigh of relief, thinking that the full weight and knowledge of a government agency would be focused on this disease. But that was soon shattered. When details of the announcement were revealed it was learned that the total budget for this study was just $300,000! Hardly enough to pay the annual salary for laboratory staff. Further, it was revealed that Kaiser had already been treating Morgellons patients but had given them the diagnosis of Delusional Parasitosis. Kaiser was already biased and not the best choice to investigate a disease already plagued by misdiagnoses. Further proof that the study was a shill came when the CDC posted a page on their official website devoted to the study (see www.cdc.gov/unexplaineddermopathy/). After two years of questionable research the CDC states that they have learned virtually nothing about the cause, whether or not it is contagious, whether or not it is a new disease or how to treat it. Further, in their FAQ (Frequently Asled Questions) section they politely refuse to accept any specimens, referrals or information from Morgellons researchers or victims!

Several videos have shown these "fibers" actually moving. How authentic the videos are I'm not sure. They seem legit to me but you just cant trust video these days.
I can understand that the thinking of some of these cases are delusions. Think of the drug addicts that are scratchers and swear there is something there.
Now take those people and tell them it is all in their head and send them off in straight jackets and give them more drugs