I want to find the "sugar statement" cuz I do remember thinking back "Oh they are cellulose" and can't remember the date/time period when the "polysacharide" analysis came about. I'll keep looking.
Above- Kmar
Is this what you are looking for?
New skin disorder drawing attention -- Newsday.com
New skin disorder drawing attention
BY DELTHIA RICKS |
delthia.ricks@newsday.com
9:53 PM EST, January 28, 2008
Morgellons is a medical mystery with more questions than answers.
Fair use
Citovsky said doctors still have no idea whether to categorize it as a disease that has a specific cause; a syndrome with several components, or an emotional problem driven by a vocal community that seeks solace in cyberspace.
In addition to the fibers, patients also report abnormal skin sensations, such as stinging, crawling and biting. Still others cite joint pain and short-term memory loss as key problems. A few report shocking manifestations, such as a live worm emerging from their skin, or a wad of the fibrous material bursting through a lip.
"Many [pyhsicians] consider it a psychiatric problem," Citovsky said. "However, there might be something that they develop," he added, underscoring that his laboratory analyses have cracked the chemical puzzle of the fibers.
"They're made up of polysaccharides, sugars," he said. "Long chains of sugar molecules. The problem is the people who deny the existence of the disease. They say this is lint or dirt that people find on their skin. But it's not dirt, it's not lint, it's not twigs.
"But on the other hand, it is not a living creature, because some people say they're worms."
Citovsky received samples of the fibrous material last year from San Francisco physician Raphael Stricker. Stricker wrote the first paper on the disorder, along with biologist Mary Leitao, who gave the disorder the name Morgellons in 2002. She found a reference in a medical history book on a 17th century disease in which fibrous material emerged from people's skin. Her son had suffered from emerging fibers. She now runs a Morgellons foundation in Pennsylvania.
Stricker sent samples of the material to Citovsky's lab because he thought the Stony Brook biochemist could produce answers.