The most appalling article on morgellons yet

[hilly]

Thankyou Cindy for this, am posting it for others to see and respond to.. H x

What is Morgellons Disease? Is it a physical or psychological condition?: Scientific American

This is the worst article I've seen on Morgellons in a LONG time. The author had the opportunity to interview Morgellons researchers and physicians but she decided not to bother with doing her homework.

There is a place for comments about the article and I have commented. Please add yours. I have also made a gentle request directly to the author to ask if she would be interested in doing a follow-up. That would be in order for damage control purposes.

The blog is called "Scientific American" but I don't see any "Scientific" in the entire article.

Pass it on...the more comments ...the better!

Thank You!

Cindy

[hilly]

Who on earth is Coco Ballantyne anyway ?

[Kritters]

Hily,

I'm very disappointed in Scientific American. I always read it as I'm sure many people do. I guess it's time to google that author and see if she has any association with quackwatch people (if you know what I mean).

Now, I'll read the article.

Kritts

[Sadsack]

I hate to say this, but I think she was just too lazy to do her homework and find the experts. Just picked "a dermatologist".
She gets an F- for her paper.

SS

[tcmgpt13]

Oh, this person looked at Morg pictures sent to him and then made this pronouncement about Morgellons patients? Really? He did not see the CDC site which is now saying this is a real illness of some sort even if it is so far invisible? Interesting.

Oh, but I forget that it is the fashion for most parasite researchers in the US to study parasites in developing nations while neglecting the study of people who are right under their noses in the same country. I mean folks in the US do not have parasites. Look at the Gates foundation, being castigated because they do not donate enough money for the study of parasites in foreign nations. Imagine. Picture this. All along the herbal cancer salve I used worked against imaginary cancer cells and tissues only. I was just so easily misled by my herbal practitioner. She said it was parasites too and saw them, but poor woman, she, too, was seeing imaginary things too.

Of course now, after nearly four years, I cannot easily show doctors the parasites as the ones I see currently are so small. No doctor would have been willing at the time I had my largest parasites and large sized collection of clearly visible parasites to actually look at them emerging from my skin. No, it would have been hard for anyone else back then, like a medical doctor, to see these parasites. Today, it seems they still may be invisible, at least to some doctors.

No, see, one needs to be a poor, uneducated person from a developing nation to see a parasites clearly. This status automatically confers on the aforementioned person the ability to clearly see and identify parasites . So of course their parasites are not invisible, as clearly they and their doctors can see them (because they actually look? Maybe, don't know for sure). The premise seems to be that parasites exist only in developing nations. Therefore these parasites are clearly visible to all concerned. Meanwhile it is patently clear that people in the US with such symptoms are a demented bunch of kooks. They need glasses too. Or maybe contacts. Anyway, interesting insights in the article. New too.

Here is the introductory page to the research pediatric parasitology site headed by il dottore Cappello, he is the person interviewed in the article (take out one letter p, making it capello, and this name means one hair in Italian):

Welcome to the Cappello Lab

"Research in our laboratory encompasses two broad disciplines. Our primary interest has been the pathogenesis of parasitic helminth infections. The majority of this work involves laboratory investigations aimed at characterizing the pathogenesis of hookworm infection, a leading cause of anemia and malnutrition in developing countries. Over the past decade, we have studied how adult hookworms, bloodfeeding nematode parasites, evade host defenses in order to feed successfully while attached to the intestinal mucosa. A number of novel hookworm proteins secreted at the site of attachment have been isolated and/or cloned, including anticoagulants, platelet inhibitors, immunomodulatory compounds (including a homologue of human cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor), and tissue degrading proteases. Using a model of infection with the human and animal hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum, it has also been demonstrated that immunization with single recombinant antigens confers partial protection against anemia and/or growth delay. This discovery further establishes the proof of concept for development of a vaccine that may impact the health of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. In addition to our work on hookworm pathogenesis, we have recently established field based immunoepidemiologic studies aimed at characterizing host immune responses to hookworm infection in endemic countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. These studies have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

A second focus of our laboratory research is aimed at characterizing the anti-thrombotic mechanisms of hematophagous invertebrates, studies which have been carried out in conjunction with collaborators working in a variety of biological systems. To date, we have characterized novel anticoagulants and platelet inhibitors from hookworms, schistosomes, tsetse flies, and Ixodes ticks. These collaborative studies may ultimately lead to the identification of novel targets for preventing diseases caused or transmitted by bloodfeeding parasites, including hookworm anemia, schistosomiasis, sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis), and tick-borne infections. In addition, these parasite antithrombotics may also represent potential therapeutic agents for “first world” diseases associated with thrombosis, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke. This work has been supported through grants from the American Heart Association, and the Charles Hood Foundation. Preclinical development of lead compounds has also been supported by the NIH Small Business program in collaboration with L2 Diagnostics, Inc., a New Haven biotechnology company.

The long range goal of our research program is to advance the field of helminthology by identifying novel parasite virulence factors and characterizing host immune responses. In addition, we believe that anti-thrombotics isolated from hematophagous invertebrates hold great promise as therapeutic agents for the treatment and/or prevention of a variety of cardiovascular condition."

Ah, I could tell him about parasite virulence factors (it was spreading so fast up my arms I feared for my life at the time) and novel ones too (and even have more than one witness to what I saw) but obviously, as the story goes, none of us could have seen anything. Interested in tick borne diseases---hmmm, so suddenly chronic lyme may recover from its current invisibility? Ah, maybe a glimmer of hope?

Well, I am kind of tired now, my prolonged invisible illness does that to me, so time to kick back and watch the movie Harvey, all about the invisible six foot rabbit. Read this short review to understand why we may need a psychiatrist to see our parasites after all (tongue in cheek here):

Harvey - Movie Review and Sounds

"This excellent lighthearted film was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning hit play written by Mary Chase. Josephine Hull won a best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of Elwood P. Dowd's long suffering sister Veta Louise Simmons. James Stewart, who plays Dowd, was nominated for best actor in this 1950 film but lost out to Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac.

Elwood P. Dowd is a friendly, likeable drunk who has a best friend named Harvey, a six foot three and a half inch invisible white rabbit. This movie was made back in the days when alcoholics could be likeable, unlike the era of intolerance we live in today where it seems as if everyone is a crusader for or against some real or perceived social or ecological issue. People have written disputing that Elwood P. Dowd is a drunk because you never see him take a drink during the movie. While it is true that you don't see him taking a drink in movie, you have to assume that he orders all those martinis for some reason. You also have to assume that he hides bottles in his bookcase at home for some reason, too.

Harvey is a pooka, which is described in the movie as, "From old Celtic mythology, a fairy spirit in animal form, always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature very fond of rumpots, crackpots, and...."

Jesse White does a good job portraying Marvin Wilson, the psychiatric orderly who totally mistrusts Elwood P. Dowd and isn't fond of him as the other characters in the movie seem to be. Veta Simmons' daughter, Myrtle May Simmons, is played by Victoria Horne. She is frustrated in her attempts to meet eligible gentlemen and blames her lack of suitable callers on Elwood and his large rabbit. She meets her soul mate in the form of Marvin Wilson, however.

Elwood P. Dowd tries, all through the movie, to introduce Harvey to everyone he meets but the only one who eventually sees him is Dr. Chumley, the psychiatrist. Dowd's sister Veta sometimes acknowledges the existence of Harvey but only when she's under extreme stress.

Some people may say that this movie is dated and out of touch with today's reality but maybe that's what gives it its charm."

[hilly]

Good comments from Cliff Mickleson... do add your own comments... the author will regret the day she wrote this uninformed rubbish....

[sarothra]

Originally Posted by hilly

Good comments from Cliff Mickleson... do add your own comments... the author will regret the day she wrote this uninformed rubbish....

Where can I see the comments from Cliff Mickleson?

saro

[Kritters]

It seems Ms Cocoloco writes hit and run articles. Click on her name to see the others she has written.

5 ways to prevent yourself (and others) from Swine flu
10 ways to stave off hospital superbugs and other nasty germs
slide show: 7 myths about pregnancy

What's next...50 ways to leave your lover?

And, Sorry Cocoloco Ballantyne Beer....it's not the 'Swine' flu...duhh uhhh...it's the H1N1.

Why not leave the serious issues to serious journalists?

Kritters

[hilly]

Sarothra... go to the bottom of the article where it says 'read comments' his is about no. 12 or 13 I think... then you can add your own comment too... Hx

[jonsi]

WTF????? What are you guys talking about here? Links to misinformation!
I'm not going to waste my time.

~jonsi