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February 2008 Researchers from the CDC recently launched an epidemiologic study to learn more about the unexplained skin condition known as morgellons. “The primary goals of this study are to learn more about who may be affected by this condition and the symptoms they experience and to look for clues about factors that might contribute to the condition. Here at the CDC, we have experienced an increasing number of reports within the last year or so from patients that have suffered from this condition, and we have been diligently working to plan a systematic and rigorous scientific investigation to look at this more critically,” Michele Pearson, MD, of the CDC and a researcher of the study, said at the CDC telebriefing announcing the launch of the study on Jan. 16, 2008.
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Source: Morgellons Research Foundation |
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The nonprofit Morgellons Research Foundation was created to raise awareness and funding for research on this unexplained skin condition.
“We are hearing from an increasing number of parents self-reporting that [morgellons] is present in their children. About 15% of the registrants on the Morgellons Research Foundation website are of children aged 13 years and younger,” Mary Leitao, the foundation’s creator and executive director, told Infectious Disease News.
Leitao first became involved with this issue in 2001 after her 2-year-old son presented with signs and symptoms associated with the skin condition.
“When I first started looking at this condition, I thought of it as a skin disease because my son had inflamed skin with this strange material coming out of his skin. Then I met a number of individuals with these symptoms who were also incredibly sick and were disabled by their physical illness. They were experiencing muscle pain, chronic fatigue, joint pain, headaches and a lack of ability to concentrate,” Leitao told Infectious Disease News.
“Much of what we know about this condition has been based upon self-reports and on information collected through a registry established by the Morgellons Research Foundation,” Pearson said. “Many of the providers who have seen these patients have been as challenged as the patients who are seeking care themselves. There is no textbook definition on this condition, and there are many hypotheses about what might be causing and contributing to it. So it has been a very frustrating journey not only for the patients but also for the providers who care for them.”
“We are thrilled with the launch of the CDC study and this is the outcome that we were hoping for. We are fully supportive of this investigation but continue to work with private researchers who are also investigating the cause of this condition,” Leitao said.
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Editor’s Note: Readers who wish to explore this topic further after exploring the two web links listed might also look up an article entitled “Figment of the Imagination?” by Brigid Schulte, that appeared in the Washington Post on Sunday, January 20, 2008. Dr. Raphael Stricker is a prominent figure in the Morgellons Research Foundation, as well as in ILADS, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. Some readers may recall his discussion of Chronic Lyme Disease at the IDSA meeting in October, 2006. For now, I would urge maintaining an open mind, pending completion and analysis of the CDC study. — Theodore C. Eickhoff, MD, |
For more information:
- Additional information is available on the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov and the Morgellons Research Foundation website at www.morgellons.org.
