Morgellons as a Somatopsychic Disorder with Organic Etiology

Abstract

Morgellons Disease (MD) is a multi-system disorder with a primary symptom characterized by the emergence of tiny, multicolored fibers from the skin. A study conducted in Northern California led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to not recognize MD as a separate diagnosis. The study involved 115 patients with MD-like symptoms. The researchers conducted interviews, analyzed patients’ blood and urine, and studied skin biopsies, but they failed to find a correlation between MD and any infectious or environmental cause. The study concluded that MD was more like a delusional disorder. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the said study and describe the limitations and biases therein. This includes lack of a comparison group, sampling bias and problems in analyzing the results. The review will also highlight why MD should be considered a separate multisystem condition with an underlying pathology based on evidence from more recent studies.