Mysterious skin disease spurs quest for answers

[Franky]

I read this and thought it was a well down piece. So i have reprinted here for your thoughts.

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

Health authorities said they are baffled by a mysterious and controversial skin condition called Morgellons disease, which some have called a plague, and which has appeared in a cluster of cases in North Texas.

Cheryall Spiller said she moves much slower than she once did because of the mystery disease she said torments her.

"Small white worms that come out of my ears, you can feel them itching in there," she said. "You can get a Q-tip and dig them out."

Stephanie Bailey said she is plagued by Morgellons, too.

"Sometimes little black specks...come out of the lesions and sometimes little fibers," she said.

The disease looks like sores or scabs, but under a microscope, tiny and painful fibers of different colors pop out of the lesions.

"It sounds a little like a parasite, like a fungal infection [or] like a bacterial infection," said Ginger Savely, an Austin nurse practitioner. "But it never quite fits all the criteria of any known pathogen."

Savely has treated over 100 patients, including many from North Texas. Patients have often been turned away by doctors or told the disease is all in their minds.

In fact, many doctors don't believe Morgellons is real.

"Many of these patients do have delusion of parasitosis," said Dr. Adelaide Herbert, University of Texas Science Center. "It is actually not uncommon to have patients come in and describe the sensation that something is crawling on their skin."

Lisa Wilson would differ. She said her 23-year-old son Travis is plagued by the disease.

"Feeling like bugs are crawling all over you," she said. "You can't sleep. It's freaky. So, he would go days without sleep."

Wilson said the disease has overwhelmed her son as he has struggled with medications that haven't worked.

"He would tell me he would rather have cancer, because then he would know what he was up against," she said.

After pressure from patients and families like Wilson's, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed to investigate this summer.

North Texas health departments, including Dallas County, have been told to be on the lookout for Morgellons. But so far, News 8 hasn't been able to find a doctor in North Texas who has treated a patient.

Most of the research on the illness is taking place north of the Texas border at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa.

Dr. Randy Wymore said he believes the strange fibers are the key, but said he still searching for many more answers.

"Is there an environmental component that needs to be addressed? Is it contagious? These are all things that we don't know the answer to at this point," Dr. Wymore said.

After watching her beloved son battle the disease for over a year, Wilson said Morgellons finally drove him to suicide.

"I knew he was going to kill himself, and there was nothing I could do to stop him," she said.

While her son couldn't find answers, she said she hopes talking about his torment will help others who are enduring the same pains.

So far, the only connection found among Morgellons patients is that half are also diagnosed with Lyme disease. The CDC investigation is looking more closely at who is affected by it, and where it's most common.

Those searching for more information on Morgellons can email the CDC at morgellonssyndrome@cdc.gov.

Morgellons Pictures