My first post and a question

[WellStrung]

Greetings all,

Stumbled onto this site and found it very interesting.

Have not yet perused threads in-depth, have sampled a few. I have noticed
from the threads I have read, a heavy emphasis is given to the cellulose
fibers.

Are considerations given to other Morgellons symptoms that could be of
importance in nailing the culprit?

On many other forums concerning Morgellons, I have read of the following
and commonly shared symptoms:

edema of the lower extremities/especially the ankles, discoloration of ankles, hair and vision loss, melanin and keratin breakdown, white or black sand like granules (sulfur?), white or dark oozing fluid, reddish skin mostly on face, neck, and chest, coated tongue, chronic cough, thick and matted hair, clear oil like oozing from temples when shampoo applied, glabrous skin extending from lesions, pinkish/orange palms and soles, sinus crawling sensations from hell.

Is the adopted baseline for having Morgellons simply cellulose fibers?

[tcmgpt13]

Hello to you Wellstrung,

Welcome to the forum. I am sure that others here will add to this, but here is a place to start to see what symptoms are being reported with Morgellons. The thread was started by Franky, owner of this site. He, himself, does not have morgellons:

Morgellons Symptoms

Here is a thread entitled FAQ:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are treatment suggestions:

Living with Morgellons-Treatment Suggestions

Also on the main page of this forum at the top there is a way to do a search on the forum. If you do a search I am sure you will find plenty of posts describing symptoms people are noticing.

Many of us believe parasites could be involved although this may not be true of every case. It seems that symptoms do vary from person to person. Much of what you describe is also seen by people with morgellons. It is not just fibers. One thought is that agrobacterium could be involved but there is not absolute proof of anything.

Research so far has been limited. The Morgellons Research Foundation feels that some of what is happening, as far as symptoms, may be due what is found in the water supply. They have sponsored preliminary research in that direction and are continuing with it. Funds are private and so they can only research as long as funding is available. The CDC has initiated a study with Kaiser Permanente and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology which is complete, but so no results have been released. Hopefully at some point we will hear something, but government funding for this research was very limited as well so it probably will be preliminary and not entirely definitive as far as what is learned. Tissue samples as well as blood and urine specimens were done and detailed histories taken.

It is hard being patient to learn the results of all this. Still some steps have been taken and we can only hope that this will lead to some answers, even if it is just to point the direction future research might follow.

Take care and know you are not alone with this. There is a lot of information on the site as well as people willing to share their own experiences.

Take care.

best, tcm

[Sadsack]

Wellstrung -
You didn't say whether you have Morgellons yourself? I somehow think that you don't. Since you are anonymous, would you mind sharing your interest in Morgellons?
The two scientists who have done the most rigorous research on the fibers - Dr. Wymore and Dr. Staninger - do not believe the fibers are cellulose. Dr. S. states what she believes they are on her website; Dr. Wymore is still trying to determine that. He is about to replicate an FTIR elemental analysis that was done almost 3 years ago and will publish the results when it is completed.
There are some quasi-scientists who have limited background (maybe a BS in Biology) who are making some assumptions based on superficial considerations regarding Morgellons fibers (and other aspects). I, personally, don't put much stock into their claims. I think this thing is exceedingly complex and sophisticated and will take the most highly trained to figure it out...unfortunately, not many who fit that description seem to be bothering with it.
SS

[kmar]

One of the most comprehensive research reports below:

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY Fiber Study
June/July 2006

Northern Arizona University Research Report with SEM pictures taken in June of 2006.

The researcher is:
Robert F. Smith, BS Genetics, MS (Chemistry)

Lyme-Fiber-Disease - Robert F. Smith's Research June 2006

We report a possible basis of differentiation, based on the biophysical properties of fibers isolated from a Morgellons patient, as well as a future avenue of study for isolating the cause of Morgellons.

II. Discussion

A: Fiber Analysis

Fibers, upon inspection, were found to be fluorescent. The pictures (Figure 1A, 1B) show both a fiber and a hair sample from the same patient observed under white light and a Hofstead filter (with 365 excitiation). The fibers were visualized in scintillation vials with a Innotech detector, showing fluorescence with both a Hofstead filter (460 nm)and a green fluorescent filter (SYBR Green, 557 nm) upon excitation at both 305 and 365 nm. The fluorescence ceased after the illumination was extinquished. A single fiber is shown in Figure 1C.

The fiber shown in 1C was examined via SEM Microscopy at the University of Northern Arizona, with no additional modifications or treatments. SEM analysis demonstrated that the fiber appeared to be a normal hair follicle with scales (Figure 2A) and a typical root terminus (Figure 2B). The absence of a smooth surface denotes that the fiber does not seem to be coated with a protein monolayer.

In order to quantify the nature of the fluorescence, a cluster of fibers placed in nanopure deionized water were observed via a Hitachi Fluorometer. When observing the fibers, a characteristic fluorescent pattern emerged. This fluorescence pattern would account for fluorescence seen in the published pictures at the Morgellons research foundation web site.

A fluorescent factor (protein) was isolated as described below, and found to have a similar pattern of fluorescence. The cuvette alone did not fluoresce, but an equivalent protein concentration of BSA (bovine serum albumin) gave a fluorescence which differed distinctly from the fiber fluorescence (potentially eliminating bovine albumin as a protein identity). Figure 3 shows the fluorescence observed.

Figure 2A: SEM of fiber body

Figure 2B: SEM of fiber root

B. Fiber protein composition

Fibers from a patient with Morgellons Syndrome resisted dissolution in 6 M guandidine HCL, 6 M urea, and Trizol (Sigma) reagent. Fibers were ground in a mortar and pestle and resuspended in 2X SDS Buffer, and run on a 4-20% Tris Glycine Gel. Gel was coomassie stained and destained as described in Mantiatis (199. 30 kDa, 60 kDa, protein bands were observed. (Figure 4, Lane 5). The predominant band was identified (from gel excision and in gel digest/nanoHPLC/MS at the University of Arizona Proteonomics Laboratory) as human serum albumin and cytoskeletal keratin II (67 kDa) with significant peptide fragment coverage over both protein sequences.

The fluorescent factor was isolated as a soluble component, and demonstrated to be a molecule of molecular weight greater than 10 kDa (through both dialysis and ultrafiltrations in Amicon Ultra 15 devices). (Isolation was simple: The gel running buffer in which the above protein samples were run in were found to be fluorescent. Incidently, the addition of GHCl to the SDS samples served to precipitate protein into a fibrillar format Buffer was filtered and purified via a C18 column (Waters C18 Sep-Pak)

Both a UV-Vis spectra of the buffer containing the fluorescent factor and a positive Bradford assay result confirmed that the fluorescent factor contained a protein component. Gel analysis of the fluorescent factor protein component demonstrated a protein with a molecular weight of 30 kDa, also found in the analysis of the entire fiber.

Interestingly enough, a similar nano-HPLC/MS analysis of this 30 kDa protein produced no human protein peak comparisons, and only single peptide fragments potentially corresponding to the following proteins (with approximate molecular weights corresponding to 30-40 kDa) were identified (Table 1).

It may be noteworthy that the U/Az facility could not purify the protein using conventional methods from the buffer. Reportedly, a black tar-like oil precipitated under their assay conditions. This may denote other molecules that were potentially present in the buffer, originating from the fiber protein mixture.

Table 1:

Peptide Fragment Listing for 30 kDa fluorescence associated protein

gi|225632m(casein alpha S1) bovine origin

gi|56477959m(probable iron-sulfur 4Fe-4S ferredoxin protein [Azoarcus sp. EbN1]

_gi|56314002|emb|CAI08647.1| probable iron-sulfur 4Fe-4S ferredoxin protein [Azoarcus sp. EbN1])

gi|55420470probable alkene monooxygenase reductase [Nocardioides sp. JS614]

gi|34102607conserved hypothetical protein [Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472]_gi|34496752|ref|NP_900967.1| hypothetical protein CV1297 [Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472]

gi|68351715hypothetical protein TP02_0195 [Theileria parva]

gi|53689178COG0458: Carbamoylphosphate synthase large subunit (split gene in MJ) [Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides ATCC 8293]

[kmar]

III. Future direction:

The fluorescent factor protein was purified via C18 Sep-Pak chromatography, eluted with methanol/water (50:50) and rotary evaporated to dryness. The resultant powder should be sent to OSU Stillwater’s Proteonomic facility for MALDI-TOF and Edmund sequence analysis. MALDI-TOF will allow the identification of the exact mass of one (or several) proteins in the mixture, whereas Edmund sequence analysis will yield the first fifteen amino acids present in the protein sequence, allowing for either confirmation of the prior nano-HPLC/MS results or bioinformatics searches to obtain the protein identity.

As of now, the samples have been sent to
Dr. Wymore, due to complications with communicating with the Stillwater facility.

Currently, this protein identity is unknown.

The fluorescence (associated with fibers), isolated to a protein composition, may be a unique feature to Morgellons patetients. The establishment of a diagnostic biochemical characteristic to Morgellons would greatly assist clinical practicioners in distinguishing between Morgellons and Delusional Parasitosis. Accordingly, it may be of significant interest to screen a wide variety of fibers from Morgellons patients for fluorescence, in order to establish this as a feature common to many patients. Similarly, it may be of interest to survey textile and cellulose fibers for fluorescence, in order to establish the fluorescent fiber hallmark as a unique, non-commerical, non-man-made entity. Further protein analysis of the fluorescent factor may yield clues to the infectious agent idenitity, as the protein does not, in this single sample, correspond to any potential human gene or protein product.

The techniques described here could also be applied to another physical manifestation of Morgellons: the emergence of black “specks” from the skin.

A similar protein biochemical analysis of the specks may prove revealing in identifying the entity responsible for Morgellons.

Regardless, it must be emphasized that this is the sum result of a single patient with Morgellons, and thus not statistically accurate/valid as a potential portrayal of the Morgellons condition. Multiple analyses need to be conducted on multiple fibers from multiple patients, before this information should be scientifically reported.

[kmar]

1 of 3 graphs

Black: BSA .5 mg/mL excitation 250 nm, fluorescence seen slight bump at 315 nm, slight peak at 500 nm. (BSA dissolved in F.Factor buffer).

Blue: F.Factor, 0.5 mg/mL, excitation 250 nm, fluorescence seen with large peak at 345 nM and large peak at 500 nm.

Red: F.Factor buffer, possibly contaiminated? No 345 peak, only 500 nm peak.

2 of 3 graphs

Fluorescent protein (.5 mg/mL) and buffer with 250 excitation. 345 fluorescence seen, 500 nm fluorescence seen in both buffer and fluorescence protein. Again, contaimination may have occurred for the green fluorescence

3 of 3 graphs

Large blue: Fibers in water, red is f.factor protein, black is f.f buffer. Water showed no fluorescence.

Analysis of data presented:

The presence of a 500 nM peak in the buffer used to dissolve BSA, as well as the buffer alone is puzzling. Although the purified protein itself exhibits green fluorescence, as defined by observation in the Innotech detector with illumination seen with the Green Fluoresence filter (as described earlier), these potential contaiminants prevent accurate assessment of this F.protein as a “green fluorescent protein”. It is of note that the buffer containing F.Factor fluoresced brilliantly, while control buffer did not.

The F.factor protein is not bovine serum albumin, with a distinctly different pattern of fluorescence.

The fibers themselves exhibit the same fluorescence pattern seen as the F.factor protein, with a green peak, suggesting that the fluorescence of the fiber may be due to this particular protein (F.factor). Although this is only a sample from one individual, it is very provocative, demonstrating a scientific basis for previously anecdotally reported fluorescence. Of particular note is the green and red (as well as the broad peak ranging from 345-400) fluorescence seen in the fibers.

All graphs located:
http://www.thenmo.org/rSmith01.htm

[tcmgpt13]

It is interesting that any research conducted on Morgellons and its fibers seems hidden from view--there is hardly any reference to Robert F. Smith on the Northern Arizona University website and none I could find connecting this research to him or the university. I wonder why this research is not mentioned on the university website. Was it totally privately done?

"Regardless, it must be emphasized that this is the sum result of a single patient with Morgellons, and thus not statistically accurate/valid as a potential portrayal of the Morgellons condition. Multiple analyses need to be conducted on multiple fibers from multiple patients, before this information should be scientifically reported."

I surely do agree with these two sentences. Two samples from one patient is a very small study indeed.

[faithinacure]

K-mar:
Thanks for supplying all that! That's observant TCM, it does sound like it was done privately. It will hopefully make sense to people now who can learn more and also get funding. I feel it's on the horizon. It's my gut feeling we're fortunate to get any private research results that could have been kept private and instead was shared.

Also, great detailed photos tell some of the story of the organism.

Faithxoxo

[kmar]

This research was donated time in the summer of 2006 by
Robert F. Smith, BS Genetics, MS (Chemistry)

Robert F. Smith is the son of Dr. Greg Smith (Assoc. Director of the NMO)

Dr. Wymore took 3 fibers to the Tulsa police department
Two blue and one red. Unfortunately that doesn't represent
multiple patients either.

Hopefully very soon, we will learn something from the ARMY pathology/CDC Study.

The report from Robert F. Smith (though just 1 patient) is the most
comprehensive research report that I have seen to date.



Faithinacure,

Your Welcome, and yes I agree that the pics are excellent. There are more to see on the links at the NMO where the original report is located.

Robbie Smith Research Paper 2

Robbie Smith Research Paper 1


.