Morgellons Syndrome: Symptoms, Treatment And Theories That Explain It
In 2001, Mary Leitao, a biologist and mother of a 7-year-old boy. She discovered that her son had unique sores on his skin in which strange fibers of unknown origin could be seen. After a tireless search for diagnoses and unresolved answers, she coined this condition as Morgellons syndrome.
Morgellons syndrome is a mysterious and very controversial disease for which today no answers have yet been found endorsed by the entire scientific community, and around which all types of theories, both scientific and conspiracy, circulate.
Morgellons syndrome or disease is a rare condition, whose name was coined relatively recently, in which the affected person suffers a series of delusions in which he believes he is contaminated by infectious pathogenic elements. These elements can be insects, parasites or a series of foreign fibers that they claim to have under their skin.
These delusions may be reinforced by the fact that, in certain cases, they have been observed a series of foreign fibers present in the skin lesions that the person himself causes
Self-harm is common in Morgellons patients, who report a constant obsession with scratching or even biting their skin with the intention of relieving the tickling or itching sensations they report feeling.
Morgellons syndrome has turned out to be a disease surrounded by controversies and discussions within the medical and scientific community. The reason is that part of this community distinguishes it as a new disease with its own symptoms, while Others consider it a new type of manifestation of an already known disorder, dermatozoic parasitic delirium
The mystery and controversy surrounding Morgellons syndrome is such that conspiracy theories have been established around it, which describe it as a disease caused by governments or companies themselves through the use of nanotechnology. Which, according to them, would explain the appearance of the fibers under the skin and the constant tingling.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Since, at the moment, Morgellons syndrome is not accepted as a defined disease, there is no record of its symptoms, nor Nor have guidelines been developed to make a differential diagnosis accepted of this.
According to the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF), the list of symptoms can include:
Likewise, symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, symptoms of depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been recorded in a large number of patients affected by this strange disorder.
Possible causes of the syndrome
Given the great disagreement and the little research that exists around Morgellons Syndrome, a series of hypotheses and theories have been established about its origin. Some of them are based on possible skin diseases, while others are based on the effect that certain bacteria or toxins have on people.
1. Dermatozoic parasitic delirium and other neurological disorders
As mentioned above, a part of the scientific community, including dermatologists and psychiatrists, consider Morgellons syndrome a new version of the well-known dermatozoic parasitic delirium, also known as delusion of infestation. According to psychiatric diagnostic manuals, these disorders They are included in the category “delusional disorders unspecified”
Likewise, the scientific community affirms that people who suffer from Morgellons syndrome are characterized by manifesting symptoms very similar to those of dermatozoic parasitic delirium, which is why the majority of them are diagnosed as such.
This parasitic delusion stands out for instilling, in people who suffer from it, the delusional belief that they are infested by all types of bacteria or parasitic agents, which cause that tingling and itchy sensation under the skin
Patients suffering from this disorder may develop self-harming or self-mutilating behaviors, that they carry out with the purpose of “tearing off” or eliminating those parasites from their body Due to this obsession, patients increasingly dig into their wounds, making it impossible for them to heal.
In certain cases of parasitic delirium, the cause of delirium is found in certain allergies, skin carcinomas, herpes zoster or even in some women in the menopause stage. In which the skin sensations are real, but the attribution that the subjects give them is irrational.
2. Skin conditions
Other hypotheses that attempt to find the cause of Morgellons suggest that the basis of this alteration is found in certain skin disorders such as allergic dermatitis contact dermatitis or scabies, also known as scabies.
As in the previous point, the person feels a real itch on the skin, but maintains the delusional belief that it is not a skin disease but is infected by parasites.
3. Bacterial hypothesis
In research published in 2006 in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, it was stated that Morgellons disease could be linked to an undefined infectious process Likewise, they also testified that the same bacteria that cause Lyme disease had been found in many of the patients affected by Morgellons syndrome.
The following year, the same researchers stated that the fibers found in the patients’ skin lesions contained cellulose, while a more detailed analysis of these fibers revealed the appearance of a bacteria known as Agrobacterium This pathogenic agent is typical of the plant world, and is known for originating a series of cellulose fibers in the plants it infects. If this theory is true, Morgellons syndrome would be the first case in which a bacteria from the plant world affects humans.
In most cases, Morgellons syndrome shares the same treatment as parasitic delirium, since many professionals consider it as such.
After a medical examination to rule out organic causes, a series of typical antipsychotics is administered such as olanzapine and risperidone.
Since many patients reject the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, they oppose psychiatric treatment. Therefore, based on the theories of infectious agents and bacteria, many patients are treated with antibiotic or antiparasitic medication; which would act on patients through the placebo effect.
