New Chinese Study Legitimizes Morgellons
Sometimes it’s difficult to imagine how long ago 2012 was despite how fresh the trauma of events from that year can continue to resonate. In early January of that year, our very own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a $600,000.00 scientific report of 12 patients that concludes with no specific determinations.
We were not able to conclude based on this study whether this unexplained dermopathy represents a new condition, as has been proposed by those who use the term Morgellons, or wider recognition of an existing condition such as delusional infestation, with which it shares a number of clinical and epidemiologic features [26]–[31].
In as black and white as the CSS on this website will afford us to highlight, the CDC study was clearly non-conclusive.
But that’s clearly not how the headlines read the days and weeks following the publication of this very expensive and especially non-conclusive paper about Morgellons Disease. Headlines such as “The CDC Study That Debunks Morgellons Disease and the Stigma of Mental Illness” from Slate, “Morgellons disease exists “only in patients’ minds,” study shows” from CBS, and “Morgellons discounted as psychological” by Newsday.
As demonstrated above, the CDC study did not debunk Morgellons or show that the disease exists only in patients' minds, and although some may want to argue that the study does discount the patient experience — it certainly did not conclude that the condition was psychological. “We were not able to conclude”.
Subsequent to the publication of the 2012 Unexplained Dermopathy study, several research papers have appeared in prestigious scientific and medical journals consistently demonstrating an infectious etiology — that the CDC did not look for. The CDC researchers utilized antibody tests to search for an immune response to likely infections, they did not culture spirochetes in Petri dishes as the studies subsequent to the Unexplained Dermopathy paper have routinely accomplished.
Enough evidence was eventually cumulated so that in late 2018 a periodic review of the contemporary literature was assembled. The conclusion of that review is, “According to the best-available scientific evidence, MD should be considered a dermopathy associated with tick-borne disease.”
And then, from the farthest expanses of deep left field, also in 2018, Chinese scientists published a paper entitled, “Reframing delusional infestation: perspectives on unresolved puzzles”. Never heard of it? That’s not broadly surprising considering what it says about Morgellons Disease.
Patients with DI/MD with animate or inanimate objects can exist, but the belief of cutaneous fibers may or may not be delusional. A physician is required to perform fiber analysis to identify the nature of fibers. If fibers are present and biofilaments of human origin, then they are a true observation.
Oh? In China, the physician is required to perform a fiber analysis? What else does this paper say about Morgellons?
If there are cutaneous fibers present and the belief is not delusional, the underlying cause of the symptoms, such as potential infection, should be examined. A diagnosis of MD is more convincing when spirochetal infection is identified.
A diagnosis of Morgellons is more convincing when a spirochetal infection is identified. Of course, antibody tests for spirochetal infections are notoriously insensitive with both syphilis and Lyme disease each receiving iterations of greater sensitivity most recently. Still, there are other spirochetal infections that have been identified as associated with MD including relapsing fever and, to a much lesser extent, Bartonella bacteria (syphilis has not yet been confirmed as associated with Morgellons in any scientific research papers though some people think that is a likely possibility).
So Morgellons is actually a real condition associated with an infectious process, but why can’t normal doctors do anything about it? Why do we have to tell people to go see special doctors, as they are often regarded? Why in 2020 are we still having to tell people that Functional and Integrative Medicine doctors are a different kind of a GP experience, and these kinds of board-certified physicians CAN do something about Morgellons?
That has a lot to do with the propaganda against these described “alternative” doctors. Articles like “Integrative Medicine finally admits it’s attracting bad apples” from Science Based Medicine .org and “5 Red Flags Your Non-Conventional Medical Provider Is Doing Harm” from US News often leave individuals subconsciously averse to these kinds of revolutionary patient experiences.
The science that Morgellons Disease is an actual condition closely associated with an infectious process spans across all nationalities because it is a true observation. It is also true that there appears to be an agenda to manipulate how people feel about Morgellons, the doctors who treat it, and the patients who claim to have the condition. While we won’t accumulate any time in this article speculating on what kinds of organizations would be behind such blatant misinformation, we will instead focus on the fact that Integrative and Functional medicine remains a legal alternative to the allopathic experience while incorporating components of it. You shouldn’t feel ashamed for going to see one of these practitioners if you are searching for responsible medical treatment for MD.
Morgellons is not a psychiatric condition and as the Chinese Morgellons study states,
In summary, if a physician cannot differentiate between true observations, delusions, and overvalued ideas, they should not immediately make a diagnosis of delusional mental illness.
If this article concerns you, please reach out to your legislators and let them know that this false narrative about Morgellons is not wanted. MD patients suffer beyond stigma, the physical pain of run-away ulcerations is inhumane! Something CAN be done about Morgellons, the condition can be healed in the process of treating the underlying infections.
Let your congressman or congresswoman know that allopathic physicians deserve the same tools to diagnose and treat MD that Integrative and Functional medicine doctors utilize. Let your elected official know that your allopathic family doctor deserves the same training as these alternative physicians. Let your representative understand that the science is overwhelming, and now is the time to correct this horrible reality.
Reach out to someone that can make a difference and let them know how you feel about what is happening to Morgellons patients. Let them know that this gaslighting is happening, it happens every day right here in the USA.
