Morgellons Research Update - Dr. Wymore

[Sadsack]

Released 7/21/09
Randy S. Wymore, Ph.D.

Statement on Morgellons disease: Center for the Investigation of Morgellons Disease, OSU-CHS.
Morgellons is a condition which has an array of unusual symptoms. The sufferer often has skin lesions which heal very slowly and both the lesions and non-lesioned skin are associated with fibers and other material which seems to be shed from the skin. The skin symptoms are usually associated with intense itching as well as burning and stinging sensations. Many with Morgellons experience intense episodes of fatigue along neurological effects that usually fluctuate in intensity in an unpredictable fashion. The neurological effects can include tremors, peripheral neuropathy, difficulty in focusing thoughts and behavioral changes. Since there are no commonly characterized diseases or disorders that match these symptoms, many with Morgellons have been mislabeled as having a purely psychiatric disorder. This misdiagnosis has caused much needless suffering within the Morgellons community and is unnecessary as a careful skin examination can usually determine whether or not a person has Morgellons. A clinical dermatoscope can be utilized to visualize fibers in the skin. In addition, fiber masses under the unbroken, superficial skin have been observed in every Morgellons patient examined by OSU-CHS clinical faculty. Thus far, only individuals claiming to have Morgellons have been observed to have such fiber masses within areas of otherwise normal appearing skin. To date we still do not know the cause of Morgellons or a definitive treatment plan.
At Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS), our approach has been to: 1) characterize the physical properties of the fibers by microscopic and spectroscopic analyses, 2) culture bacteria and fungi associated with Morgellons samples, and 3) sequence DNA associated with the samples. This last approach is in an effort to identify any unusual microorganisms or parasites that might be present. Large donations are funding analysis of the fibers, which we are hiring commercial materials analysis laboratories to perform, as well as some electron microscopy at the main OSU campus. These large donations will also fund a significant part of a DNA analysis technique known as ‘shotgun sequencing’. The problem with standard DNA amplification and sequencing, which we do in-house, is that it is time consuming and every single sample must be prepared individually. Plus we cannot effectively look for ‘unknowns’; that is to say we can only look for things we are expecting to find. With shotgun sequencing there need not be any pre-bias; the process will generate thousands of fragments of DNA sequence that can then be analyzed. This will include human DNA fragments, from the host, as well as bacteria and fungi we would commonly expect to find. The hope is that in addition to the many species of microorganisms that live in and on us all, an unexpected parasitic or microbial DNA sequence will also emerge. Once we have a clue to follow, it will be possible to look for that microorganism or parasite in other Morgellons sufferers.
As is often the case in science, things take much longer than an educated guess might expect. It had been hoped that preliminary results from the microscopy and spectroscopy analyses would have been done 2-3 months ago. Unexpected difficulty has arisen with the processing, handling and shipping of the fibers. Even the commercial laboratories have been less than successful at helping us work through these problems. Simply put, the fibers have to be ‘preprocessed’ for much of the testing, and even for those tests not needing preprocessing, the labs want either dozens of identical copies of the material, or a single sample that is immobilized for shipping and yet accessible for analysis. These have proven to be unexpectedly challenging tasks. Still, progress is being made. When a suspect cause has been determined this information will be disseminated to physicians, public health officials and the Morgellons community as quickly as possible.

SS

[-----------]

"At Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS), our approach has been to: 1) characterize the physical properties of the fibers by microscopic and spectroscopic analyses, 2) culture bacteria and fungi associated with Morgellons samples, and 3) sequence DNA associated with the samples. This last approach is in an effort to identify any unusual microorganisms or parasites that might be present."

I shouldn't say what I really think about Dr. Wymore, our medical professionals and any of the Health Organizations as to how they have handled dealing with our new, emerging disease. I know it's possible that Morgellons could be something worse than what it is... heaven's forbid.

What are they doing? Trying to come up with one answer for everything?... that if they are finding bacteria and fungi - at least, tell our doctors this much - give our doctors a starting place instead of letting people continue to suffer without ANY medical help!

[Sadsack]

Kammy -

I think you may have misinterpreted what he said. The "shot-gun dna" is intended to pick up any and ALL dna fragments. The next step is to disregard the bacteria and fungus that are NORMALLY found on human skin. Then - hopefully - dna fragments that are NOT normal will remain.

Let's say there are 10 "unusual" dna fragments. They will then test for those particular organisms on other individuals with Morgellons to see if they are common infections with people with Morgellons (but NOT non-infected people.)

That is a starting place. They already know about agrobacteria (although not mentioned in his update, Dr. Wymore will replicate that study after these are completed). These are all just pieces of the puzzle.

The shot-gun dna is MANDATORY in verifying the presence of any particular organism, whether it be a parasite, bacteria, fungus, etc.
VISUAL COMPARISONS ARE INVALID for studies like these.

Even after certain "additional" organisms are identifed, it still needs to be determined whether they are causes, opportunistic co-infections, or part of the disease progression (but not the primary cause).

Let's say a squirrel dies outside (from a heart attack). He begins to decompose, and gets covered with flys, maggots, ants, colembola, various bacteria and fungi. To assume that these things are the cause of death would be wrong. Of course, we aren't "dead", but some other unusual process may be occurring that attracts these things to us.

So then - it is only part of the picture. But it is an important part, because these other organisms are probably contributing to how sick we become, and can be treated separately. It also is PROOF that something very different is going on with people with Morgellons.

SS

[-----------]

Once again too much emphasis is being placed on the fibers. This is a smoke screen...

" Large donations are funding analysis of the fibers, which we are hiring commercial materials analysis laboratories to perform, "

We already suspect that this is some sort of 'fiber' polymerization in the material sciences is happening inside our bodies... of course, it's going to take 'commercial materials analysis' to tell us what the fiber aspect is... they are the creators of this product.

It's the slowness of the process - in the meantime... keep our doctors in the dark as long as possible so they can continue to send us home as 'crazy' people - that's what I'm complaining about.

Dr. Wymore is a figurehead.

[BarbM]

Not everyone that has Morgellons has skin lesions initially....I know that I didn't. I had the original bite sites where crystal formations came out regularly, but otherwise nothing until 8 years into the process. I did, however, have definite gastrointestinal issues, producing large and small stages of developmental larva of many types of organisms. I would never have thought that what I eventually saw come out of my body in the hundreds, would have been slugs, bugs, worms, and various other creatures!

I believed from the outset that this disease is caused by several vectors, all of which are yet to be determined. However, once I absolutely identifiied the slugs, compared them with slugs from my own yard, the search was on! Slugs are one of the top agricultural pests...especially for corn - and Bt corn! Cotton, soy, canola, sugarbeets, etc. are all products that are GMOs in addition to corn. The list is never-ending of processed foods, drinks, meds, fabric, that contain at least one of these GMOs. So, simply, if the DNA for these 'pests' are incorporated into the GMOs, it's no wonder that various types of bugs, slugs, and insects are in our bodies. Bacteria are already part of the HGT, and various other viruses, parasites and pathogens can just as easily be made part of the mix...no normal person produces these agricultural pests from their bodies, unless they were put there by surreptitious means! Since labeling is still not required on GMO foods, we may never know exactly what is in our food supply, etc.

All we can do is keep posting what is coming out of our bodies, and if more than one other person has it, (even one actually), we will know that it is part of the process. Where will it lead? Hopefully to a cure, but until then, all we can do is help each other through the rough times, share and communicate information - that is the most powerful of all!

Let's face it, the word "Morgellons" did not exist for any of the physicians that are alive and practicing today...that is a given. If it wasn't in their textbooks, they don't know about it...and that's from a doctor.....and if it comes from a patient, they don't WANT to know about it - their arrogance will not allow the patient to have the level of intelligence that they 'apparently' do! So, if they learned from textbooks, and we learned from actual experience and research, who's intelligent?????

[Sadsack]

I, too, am frustrated by the slow pace of the research - but I take great offense at Dr. Wymore being called "a figurehead".

You clearly do not know the history of his involvement, or the fact that he does ALL RESEARCH ON HIS OWN TIME. He is a full time professor at the medical school at OSU, and does his Morgellons research on his own time and ONLY with private donations. He has a family that he is taking time away from to do this research - and he was not "appointed" by anyone.

Dr. Wymore came across Morgellons on the internet years ago while researching "fibers", as in muscle fibers. He became intrigued and thought it would be a cinch to solve, and so volunatarily contacted the MRF. Fiber donations were solicited, and when it turned out to be something completely unknown to man, he stayed and has been fighting for us ever since.

If you read his summary, you would see that he is NOT "just looking at fibers". Re-read the explanations of shot-gun dna.

You may THINK you know what something is by looking at it, but dna is absolutely required to be sure.

I think it is deplorable that anyone would trash a scientist who has been working at this when your own doctor calls you crazy, won't even read about it.

How many non-Morgellons scientists do you know who are working on this without receiving one penny of compensation? Wymore, Staninger, Carnicom, Amin (to some degree) and some unidentified scientists working with the MRF.

Sorry, folks, but this is not going to be solved without rigorous science by highly trained professionals. It will need high power equipment and methods.

Are you thinking that the CDC is going to come clean about this? Who else is going to solve it?

Once again let me say that even if you are right about a particular thing you've found, you do NOT know what is cause and what is effect. Kaposi's Sarcoma does not cause AIDS - it is a RESULT of it.

SS

[tcmgpt13]

I have to agree with SS, we do not know what Morgellons is and all "research" being done by various people here is not scientific, not even close. Knowing what is going on with a disease takes a lot more than amateur sleuthing, especially for an illness which is as complex as Morgellons is turning out to be.

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This isn't a personal attack against anyone, this thread isn't about YOU, it's about the topic at hand. What a dull and boring world this would be if we all had the same opinion? And, the wonderful thing about this 'thread world' is - happiness is just a click away AND everyone is entitled to their opinion. Opinions are just that and not to be attacked, and not directed at ANYONE personally. Ho hum... yes, Dr. Wymore is doing a wonderful job of placating the people.

There's a wonderful book out called 'The Four Agreements'... some might want to check into it?

[Venetia]

Sad Sack,

Thank you for posting the update from Dr Wymore. I understand you are a great supporter of Dr Wymore and as you said he is one of the few that
is actually doing something and it's good to read something from a researcher.

V

[Sadsack]

As usual, V, your posts are a wealth of history and information.
Thank you for bringing forth that post from Morgellons Group from 2006. I don't think I read that before; if I did it was a long time ago and didn't sink in.
Anyway, it helps to confirm some of my impressions/suspicions regarding the MRF. Of course, I keep praying that there may be some shred of scientific information that comes from them (besides pathogens in a hot water tank).
As far as OSU and Dr. Wymore, I think it is entirely possible that he (being affiliated with the medical school) had no idea what the veterinary wing was up to. I say this because he has been completely candid about the Tulsa Crime Lab's discovery regarding the mystery of the fibers. Has ANYONE come forth with such distinct findings and complete candor regarding the sources and methods used to ascertain that information? Not one, not even Dr. Staninger, whom I also have great respect for. (I am referring to the fact that she has never revealed the lab reports from MIT, Lambda, etc to anyone.)
Too many freaking secrets....and too many fringe wackos.... Some times I just want to throw up my hands and give up entirely. I DON'T trust the CDC, not a bit.
I support Dr. Wymore because there just aren't that many shows in town. Is he perfect? No. But I do believe that he is transparent and does not keep secrets.
After 7 years, why does the MRF have nothing to show for it regarding scientific findings (except the above mentioned hot water tank)? That recently published article was more confusing than clarifying. All the talk about DOP and Morgellons being the same thing - did that help us??? If what they were trying to say is that people who'd been diagnosed (historically) as being DOP actually had Morgellons, why didn't they say so?
Just one question, V. What do you think the connection between radiation and Mycoplasma Fermentans is? You mention both as the origins of this condition. Do you think radiation comes first, and then exposure to Mycoplasma?
Thanks
SS

PS - Thanks for supporting your opinions with history, and not off the top of your head.