by Doreen Martel

Created on: March 30, 2010

Because so many healthcare professionals do not recognize Morgellons (also called Morgellon’s Disease or Morgellon’s Syndrome) as an actual illness, there are limited studies regarding it. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began to recognize the possibility of the validity of Morgellons patients’ claims, and authorized a study to examine Morgellons closer. Like any other study this will be a painfully slow process.

There have been few published results thus far regarding Morgellons that are trustworthy. Many amateurs or conspiracy theorists have published findings on websites, but many of these are full of holes, have little or no scientific basis, or are purely speculatory.  Official findings include results from a very limited number or professional studies by doctors, nurses/nurse practitioners, laboratories, and researchers.

The Kaiser Permanente Group in California is currently studying results obtained from a nearly yearlong clinical study involving thousands of patients in northern California. The study began in June of 2007 and lasted until December of 2007. In May of 2008, researchers, doctors, and scientists began decoding these studies and laboratory findings in order to develop theories, possible treatment options, and potential cures for Morgellons.

Oddly enough, even though there has been a debate about whether Morgellons was real since the first mention of it nearly 400 years ago, there have been little to no studies about the disease. Many doctors dismiss Morgellons patients as delusional, and offer treatment options for mental deficiencies. Because Morgellons mimics symptoms of many psychological illnesses (including bipolar disorder, ADD, and OCD symptoms), doctors often misdiagnose Morgellons patients and refuse to treat the patient for what they consider to be, at best, delusional parasitosis.

Morgellons sufferers have been waiting patiently for many years for those in the medical field to take them seriously, research the problem, and find a cure. There are a few treatment options that help, but none cures the root problem and most are short-term fixes at best. Studies being conducted now will show the truth about Morgellons, be it aliens, bio-terrorism, bugs, ecological/environmental, bacterial, or simply delusional.

Once the Kaiser Permanente Group releases their findings, expect other major medical companies to begin testing of their own. What one group sees as a solution to a problem may not be the opinion of another, however similar, group. Medical studies are often years in the making and more years in the interpreting, however, so many Morgellons patients should expect at least a decade for results.

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