Skeptics point out that cotton is also made of cellulose fibers. But Forensic scientist Ron Pogue of the Tulsa Police Crime Lab in Oklahoma told ABC News that he checked a sample of Morgellons against every known fiber in the FBI database and found no match. The lab's director, Mark Boese, told ABC that the fibers are "consistent with something that the body may be producing." He added, "These fibers cannot be manmade and do not come from a plant. This could be a byproduct of a biological organism."
Stricker has a theory, but acknowledges a lot of research needs to be conducted to see if his theory is correct. He speculates that agrobacterium, which is found in the soil and also in a high percentage of ticks, is the cause of Morgellons, and that the reason many are co-infected with Lyme is that they may contract Morgellons from the same tick that gave them the Lyme disease.
Furthermore, he notes a very curious finding. Telomerase is an enzyme that ads more DNA to the end of a chromosome after cell division. "Every cell and species has telomerase," said Stricker. "There have been comparative studies of telomerase in different organisms and it's been shown that the telomerase in Lyme and agrobacterium are exactly the same."
He continued, "This is a peculiar coincidence because telomerases are usually completely different among different species and types of bacteria. This suggests when there is co-infection with Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease, and with agrobacterium, the two bacteria can actually help each other by adding pieces of DNA to each other's chromosomes and this could cause variation in both bacteria, that could then lead to changes in what the bacteria are doing in the human body. It's a very interesting possibility that also needs to be examined in further detail."
He added, "My speculation, and it still is speculation, is that Morgellons Disease may represent the first known human illness caused by a plant bacterium. And in fact, when people say they have these fibers attached to the skin that don't come out, that are very adherent, in a way they are kind of turning into plants."
He also noted that his research has found some fibers to have a metallic coating, which could explain why many people have witnessed these fibers moving. He said the metal could become charged with electricity, causing the fibers to move.
"The movement is real," said Casey. "Most everyone you can talk to has seen these things move. It's almost alien. It's like your worst science fiction movie. A lot of us will get together and you can put them on the end of a tweezers and see them moving around almost, like a cobra dance."
But getting together, even if it is just to commiserate about the movement in the fibers, is something that seems to help these patients. Savely said, that in addition to light exercise, nutrition, and her treatment regimen, she urges her patients to seek out human contact.
Because some are afraid Morgellons could be contagious, (there is no evidence to show it is contagious under casual contact) and other are ashamed of their disfiguring lesions, like modern day lepers, many sufferers isolate themselves.
"I think human touch is so important, said Savely. "You can't go with out it. I've had patients come up to me and I give them a hug and they start to cry and they say, 'That's the first time I've touched a human being in five years.' How can you live like that? You know you can't. You can't isolate yourself. You need to be around your family now more than ever."
Look for a follow up on Morgellons in Austin in a future issue of the Gazette.
- Oak Hill Gazette
http://oakhillgazette.com/
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