Oklahoma State University - Morgellons Disease

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http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/morgellons/index.cfm

 

 

 

Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences

 

 

 

Morgellons Disease

What, Who, Where, When, Why, and How

Our Research

What You Can Do

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Links and Resources (including MP3 audio interview w/ Dr. Wymore)

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Morgellons is a multi-symptom disease that is just now starting to be

researched and understood. It has a number primary symptoms:

 

* Physical

o Skin Lesions

o Sensation of crawling and biting on and under the skin

o Appearance of fibers & granules coming out of the skin

o Fatigue

 

* Mental

o Short term memory loss

o Attention Deficit, Bipolar or Obsessive-Compulsive disorders

o Impaired thought processing (brain fog)

 

It is frequently misdiagnosed as Delusional Parasitosis

 

Who

 

* Children and adults both can have the disease.

 

* Individuals in families can have the disease while other members

do not.

 

* Multiple members of a family can sometimes have symptoms.

 

* There are over 3,000 households registered with the Morgellon's

foundation.

 

* The Morgellons Foundation is the main conduit for information

and networking between sufferers and medical professionals.

 

Where

 

* Most cases in the USA are from California, Texas and Florida,

though all 50 states have had reported cases.

 

* There are clusters of the disease in specific geographic regions

of California and Texas.

 

* Oklahoma has at least a dozen possible cases.

 

* It has been reported throughout Europe, South Africa, Japan,

Philippines, Indonesia and Australia

 

When

 

* The MRF began registering people with symptoms of the disease in

2002.

 

* The name 'Morgellons Disease' is based on the description of a

similar fiber producing condition, found in children by Sir Thomas

Browne in 1674. Microscopic drawings, dating from 1682, by Dr. Michel

Etmuller, appear to be similar to the fibers from present-day sufferers.

 

* There is no evidence giving preference to one season over

another being a more likely time to contract the disease.

 

* There are patients who have claimed to have had the symptoms for

as long as 2 decades. Most were diagnosed with Delusional Parasitosis.

 

* Medical research started in earnest in 2005 at Oklahoma State

University Center for Health Science in Tulsa.

 

Why

 

* There are doctors who believe it is related to an infectious

agent, perhaps in the same family as that which causes Lyme Disease.

This is not proven at this time.

 

* Morgellons is coming to the forefront now due to the concerted

effort of the Morgellons Foundation, founded by Mary Leitao to help

her son, Drew, who has Morgellons.

 

* Attention needs to be drawn to Morgellons so:

o Doctors will become informed and make accurate diagnoses

o Major government organizations (the CDC for example) will

pay attention and start funding further research

 

How

 

* There is no definitive understanding yet on how the disease is

transmitted.

 

* There is no conclusion yet on if it is contagious. Some families

have only one member who is affected and the others are not, even

after long exposure.

There are also multiple sufferers within a single family.

 

* It will be cured by enough research being done to find its cause.

 

* You can help by contributing time, money and resources.

 

* You can help by spreading accurate information about the disease

and combatting ignorance about it.

 

Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences

1111 W. 17th St., Tulsa, OK 74107 | 918-582-1972